STAFF PERSPECTIVE: Pit bulls unfit as family pets

Ahwatukee Foothills is such a passionately dog-loving community, it's always sad to hear when a furry companion attacks one of our own.

And, admit it, it came as no surprise that the canine assailant turned out to be a pit bull.

Earlier this week, a ruling by Phoenix Municipal Court ordered Pumpkin the pit bull to be euthanized for attacking and seriously injuring Ahwatukee Foothills resident Christene Meyers and her Yorkie, Nora, on April 17.

Defenders of the pit bull stigma claim that no breed is inherently dangerous, and that we should regard a dog as dangerous only if it has behaved in a dangerous manner.

But let's face it, certain breeds behave in a dangerous manner a lot more often than others.

Of the 32 fatal dog attacks in the United States during 2007, literally half of the named breeds were pit bulls. Nine of the victims were children ages 2 to 11. Five of the victims were elderly, ages 59 and older, including 90-year-old Celestino Rangel from San Antonio, Texas, who was killed by two pit bulls that had broken into his home and attacked him.

These are not examples of these dogs being "singled out," but the hard truth that they are dangerous animals. No other breed attacks adults nearly as often as they attack children, which pit bulls do. The breed also attacks without warning, and often without provocation.

Combine the number of attacks with their enormous jaw strength, which the dogs developed over years of selective breeding, and their "lock and shake" trait, which causes severe bone and muscle injury, pit bull owners have a very real ticking time bomb in their homes.

Why take that chance? Why do people choose to put themselves, their children and their community members at risk?

It's not just pit bulls, either, I'm talking about all violence-prone dogs.

A study by the Animal People News tracked the number of dog attack deaths and maimings from September 1982 to November 2007. The number of pit bull incidents that inflicted bodily harm was 1,194, resulting in 116 deaths. Rottweilers came in second with 427 inflictions of bodily harm and 63 deaths, and wolf-dog hybrids came in a distant third with 79 instances of bodily harm and 19 deaths. German shepherds, chows and akitas also topped the list.

A lot of these instances were, no doubt, a result of improper training. The average Joe Public is not equipped with the time, knowledge or tools necessary to keep violence-prone dogs under control. But not to do so is still irresponsible.

That's why I believe such dogs should not be adopted as family pets at all, but rather placed in homes that would better play to their strengths: Security.

Restrict pit bull and rottweiler ownership to warehouses, factories, junk yards and other places that require safeguarding.

Make sure they're trained by professionals who know what they are doing.

Keep them properly restrained by chains that don't break.

Keep children and seniors inaccessible to them.

And little Yorkies named Nora.