Should Pit Bulls Be Banned in Westminster? Readers Respond

WESTMINSTER, MD–A recent attack by a pit bull of its owner in Anne Arundel County has again ignited a debate in Maryland about whether the breed is inherently dangerous.

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On April 4, a dog was euthanized by police after it attacked a Churchton woman and would not let go. The incident prompted comment from Tony Solesky, a Towson man whose son was mauled by a pit bull in 2007.

After Solesky’s child was attacked, a Maryland court ruled pit bulls are “inherently dangerous.” The ruling held dog owners and landlords liable for any attacks by pit bulls, prompting landlords statewide to ban the dogs from rental housing.

A 2014 Maryland law supported by the Humane Society overturned the breed-specific ruling, reports The Huffington Post.

We asked Patch Readers in Westminster if pit bulls deserved the title of “Most Dangerous Dog in America” and the ban that sometimes comes along with it. Here’s what they had to say:

• "Nope, individual dogs of any breed can sometimes be dangerous. Let's not ban a breed because an individual dog was trained to behave dangerously. There are plenty of pit bulls who were bait dogs because they were so sweet."
• "There are no dangerous dogs. Just dangerous owners...."
• "I don't think so. As stated above, it's how a dog is raised. And as a bully breed dog owner, we already get enough whispers and dirty looks in public, no need to make it any worse for us."
• "Dogs are only as dangerous as their owners. Training for humans and pets is most important"
• "No!! All pit bulls aren't bad just like all people aren't bad."
• "Our pit bull is one of the sweetest dogs we've ever had!"
• "Absolutely NOT!"

The ASPCA released a statement stating that they “oppose any state or local law to regulate or ban dogs based on breed.”

They explain that the data collection methods that go into forming dog bite statistics are often unreliable. Specifically, breed identification can be difficult, especially with mixed-breed dogs, which can lead to an inaccurate calculation of a breed’s bite rate. Further complicating matters is the fact that "pit bull" is not an actual breed.

The National Canine Research Council says that responsible pet ownership is the key to aggression prevention, and that it’s the duty of the owner to not allow “a pet to become a threat or a nuisance.”

While the question of “bad breeds” is still up in the air, for every bad pit bull story, there’s a good one to match.

Do you have an opinion on pitties? Share it with us in the comments below or on our Westminster Patch Facebook page.

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>>Photo by Getty Images via Flickr