Letters to the Editor
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once again
It's not that there is a relative difference between pit bulls and other dogs. There is an ABSOLUTE difference. Most dogs - indeed most higher creatures, one of the exceptions being humankind - are programmed to not kill each other. We've all seen dogfights end with one dog standing over the other, the losing dog exposing its jugular and the winning dog growling but unable to bite any more, let alone finish the other off. A pit bull does finish the other off. It lacks an inborn inhibition, one might say a "Thou Shalt Not Kill" gene. It was bred that way, it's not its own fault, but the fact remains: if it ever bites, it doesn't know how to stop the way normal dogs do.
I don't doubt that they are fantastic pets. But there is a safety catch missing in them and that is why I cross the street when I see one.
And frankly I resent having to cross the street. I also resent having to tell my little children to not kiss strange dogs on the nose (my little boy did that once, to a pit bull, to my enormous fright) just because there are two or three breeds capable of killing.
Pit bulls don't scare their owners, but they scare other people (for good reason), and that in itself is already an aggression.