Pit Bull Mauls Child in Attack Meant for His Mother

These people are abusing dogs, they need to be mauled.

I'm sure Franz Cesar (what kind of a name is that?) will beat the charges. In fact, I'll bet his Mommy and Daddy have paid his bail and are hiring him the best criminal defense attorney in the city.

#4, overly aggressive like Dobermans, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Ridgebacks, Akitas, and Bull Mastiffs?

if any animal should be eradicated from the animal kingdom it's the pit bull.

there have been far less great white shark attacks in the last 150 years than pit bulls. in fact, on average since 1846 there have been 2 great white shark attacks a year.

So who is calling for the eradication of the great white? No creature should be eradicated.
You know who else wanted to eradicate a particular breed?

Pit bulls in the hands of dangerous owners kill once in a blue moon. Cars in the hands of dangerous owners kill every single day, but no one's advocated banning those.

I've always believed that a bad dog is the result of a bad owner, and that pit bulls are disproportionately responsible for attacks on humans because they are trained for dogfights more commonly than any other breed. And dogfighting happens to be a huge problem in New York City.

Because of this, I've never believed that pit bulls should be banned outright. When socialized properly, they can be among the sweetest, friendliest dogs. I've never heard anyone bring up the idea of special licensing for pit bulls, but now that it's been mentioned in these comments, I like the idea. Regulating these animals would do a service both to public safety -- and to the dogs themselves. We tend to think of pit bulls as being vicious, but we often don't think of them as being regularly abused, when in fact many pit bulls are vicious because they have been abused. I'm willing to bet that there are more pit bulls euthanized in the city every year because they've been horribly mauled by other dogs in fighting rings than because they've attacked people. And of course, when fighting dogs and people meet, the results can be deadly. Licensing of other types of animals, especially exotic pets, occurs elsewhere in the United States; why not try licensing pit bulls? Only allow them to be purchased or adopted as puppies, require that they receive proper socialization and regular vet visits, etc.

On a final note, as a ferret lover, I'd just like to add that New York City still considers ferrets to be dangerous, when in fact ferrets attack humans far less often than both dogs and cats, and usually spend their waking hours being cute and walking into walls, because they're not the sharpest tools in the shed. If we've banned harmless, brainless ferrets, then we can certainly try regulating dogs that are used too often for fighting.

You guys are racially profiling dogs now? I heard those pitbulls also cheat on their wives and don't pay child support. They also sell lots of drugs and are on the wrong side of the criminal justice system.

There's a reason why these "bad owners" gravitate to pit bulls. You don't see many of these life-failures walking their dobermans on heavy chains -- that's because dobermans are rarely aggresive, and when they are they aren't as dangerous as pit bulls. Just because a dog could be sweet if raised properly doesn't mean that it isn't proper to ban them for the greater good. And yeah, then the life-failures will move on to rottweilers or whatever, but that will still be safer than pit bulls. And if you happen to own a good one, well...tough shit.

let asian's like rocknrope eat them.
the rove dog.
now who says these pitbulls are good with children?

With all these cases it isn't the dog's fault. It is the fault of the idiot subhumans who abuse these dogs to the point they are weapons.
Any dog can be turned into a vicious one - from a Chihuahua to a Great Dane. It all depends on how they are treated, trained and socialized.

I have known Rottweilers who were just big sweethearts, loved other dogs, loved people, and wouldn't hurt anything except pigeons. The biggest problem with him was him finding and eating unattended sandwiches.

But at least it wasn't a bicyclist.

Or was he?

Just what would be so terrible about banning pit bull ownership? Is there anything so inherently special and wonderful about them that you couldn't make do with a dog of another breed? One of the immutable facts of life is that you can't have everything you want. Get a golden lab or a collie.

Somebody wanted this dog breed because it makes them feel a certain way about themselves. And as a result of some stupid, posturing male vanity hangup, this poor child is horribly mauled and disfigured. How could anything be worth that?

the worst part is that this mom will probably forgive him... ya know for trying to kill her and nearly killing her baby. she'll say something like, "jail changed him. he loves me. really."

When will we wake up and exterminate pit bulls???

Just about anyone who hates pitbulls or thinks they should be banned has probably never met a well trained and socialized pitbull with a responsible owner. They're incredibly intelligent, friendly, playful and loyal dogs. What people don't realize about them is that historically, they've been bred for DOG aggression, and specifically bred AGAINST human aggression. Why? Because early breeders knew they didn't want strong dogs attacking them. Generally, a pitbull needs to be trained for human aggression, and if it demonstrates a natural tendency towards human aggression it should be put down or neutered and given to someone who understands how to deal with such an animal. Irresponsible breeding and ownership is what's led to the breed being demonized.

Licensing for breeders and mandatory education for potential owners would be a godsend for this misunderstood breed.

What made you so "special" that your parents wanted to keep you? Wouldn't another child have fulfilled their needs? Are you "more intelligent, more friendly, more playful..."? What an absurd question, right?

It's close-minded people like you who refuse to see any good in this breed. I have had my lab/pit mix since he was 9 weeks old (now a year and a half) and the most "brutal attack" that has ever occurred is on the football he plays with everyday. And then, he doesn't even growl or show his teeth.) In fact, I can take the football out of his mouth and he does nothing...never has. (Heck, I even brush his teeth!) I have raised my dog to obey, play with kittens, and provide immeasurable companionship. He is very much a part of my family.

BTW, I had a full-blooded cocker spaniel and it attacked my daughter out of the blue when she was a baby. I don't see that breed being "exterminated" any time soon, though.

Granted, every single animal (including humans) follows their natural instincts to protect themselves. But, animals can be trained to behave and curb those instincts if provided a loving and safe environment. If you raise a ANY DOG BREED to be vicious and aggressive...it will be.

I used to stereotype pit bulls myself until I became a dog owner myself, they really get a bad rap.

They're sweet lovable dogs when raised in a normal environment where they're socialized with other dogs/people at a young age, instead of being hung from lightpoles, starved, beaten, weed smoke blown in their ears, burnt with newport butts, set on fire, and on a choke collar 24/7.

It is not about the breed being exterminated at all. Domestic Dogs are bred by humans and we breed the breeds and make them up, so we can choose to breed a new breed if we want and to change the American Pit Bull. We can choose to stop breeding dogs that are good for fighting. We can breed pit bulls down and not breed them to have bigger jaws and tougher muscles. It is up to the dog breeders. I live in Brooklyn and there are plenty of people who purposely breed pit bulls themselves at their homes with the goal of trying to breed the toughest dog in town. And so it is a human construct to breed these dogs to be the meanest and toughest dogs around and then also train them that way.

So it goes both ways, why breed a dog to be good at fighting if dog fighting is not allowed?
It is not just the training but also the breeding. Sure a loving home with an owner that does not train the dog to mean and fight helps. But also not breeding dogs to have the most muscles and the biggest jaws also helps. It goes hand and hand. We are the breeders of domestic dogs and we can choose not to breed a dog that is built to lock jaw.