Should Owners be Forced to Muzzle Pit Bulls in Public?

A Teaneck man agreed Wednesday to neuter and muzzle his pit bull that fatally attacked another dog last month in a settlement with officials, northjersey.com reported.

John Youngblood’s dog named Biggie Smalls could have been labeled a “potentially dangerous animal” at a hearing in Teaneck court, the report said. Youngblood had pleaded guilty to municipal violations for having his dog off a leash and failing to register the animal.

The pit bull attacked and killed a bichon frise July 12. The incident has sparked a call from the dog’s owner to require pit bulls and Rottweilers to be muzzled in public, a Record story reported. State law, however, bans regulating dogs by breed.

What do you think? Should laws be changed to regulate specific breeds of dogs? What should happen to pit bull Biggie Smalls? Share your views in the comments section.