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Killing a dog for no good reason should have the same penalty as killing a human. Surely, after thousands of years of being our best friend, the dog has earned the right to be seen as more than "just an animal."

My husbands 12 year old pit has lived a life of luxery. He has litteraly been hand fed his meals and spoiled with every toy and dog goodie there is. He us also neutered and exercised....... The bottom line? He is a natural born killer of the first order. He is a destroyer of any living thing that crosses his path and no amount of training, love or attention has ever been able to teach him otherwise. All if you pit appologists are just plain idiots. The only reason our dog is alive is that he is a living creature and we love him. We will continue to care for him in the same mannor till the day G-d takes him. But to ensure that he never hurts anything we have had to spend 15,000 to build a fortress around our home. Anybody that says that we could have done anything more for him is out to lunch. My husband plays fetch with him and massages him for an hour a day!!! Do yourself a favor and outlaw these dogs in your home town so that well intentioned people, like us, don't by one.

and to the reader who wrote about her neighbor's breeding pitbulls and having them biting their children and owners, PRIME EXAMPLE OF A BAD OWNER! dont you think any dog owner with common sense would get rid of their dog if it bit their children & even themselves? apparently your neighbor isnt a very good owner which would be the reason to the negative behavoir of the pit. if you people actually READ statistics and information of the breeds background you will soon find out that they are a breed with extraordinary temperments. pitbulls scored with a percent in the 80's on temperments (100% being perfect) whereas chows, poms & chihuahua's were in the 50's & 60's- they are GENTLE animals when raised in the correct enviroment- just like children! i will put a treat between my lips & say the word gentle to my pit and he will take it from my lips so gentle & slow its unreal- i DARE someone to TRY and come to my home to euthanize my pitbull..you WONT get past me, much less past my dog

I am a 20 year old female who owns a 60 lb 9 month old pitbull. he is my BABY- my pitbull beau found a new born kitten outside when he was 7 months old & brought it inside by his mouth and droped it by my feet. the kitten was visably very sick from being away from his mother. beau nurtured this kitten as if he was the kittens parent. bathed the kitten,wrapped the kitten in his arms at bedtime etc. NEVER any signs of aggression. beau plays with the neighborhood children and gets along with the neighborhood animals perfectly. i have raised beau since he was 4 weeks old and he has never once done something negative. if he potty's in his crate when i get home hes in the corner of his crate with his head down and very scared because he knows he did something wrong. they are LOYAL dogs who only want to please their owners. which would make sense.. if a person is teaching their pitbull to fight then of course their pit thinks they are doing GOOD & continues bc they live to plz their masters!

You hate that people lavish their pets with money, instead they should end world hunger... what about all the other selfish people who don't have pets, but still hoard their money, and spend thousands on starbucks each year?? The celebrities that are wasting millions of dollars on crap they don't need-- where's the hate for them? seems like you have a slanted view of the world my friend. Where does your extra money go? to the homeless?

DOGS ARE JUST LIKE KIDS THEY ARE OUR BABIES AND WE SHOULD ALL LOVE THEM THE SAME! EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE CARE OF ANIMALS JUST THE WAY YOU WOULD WANT TO BE TAKEN CARE OF IF YOU WERE A BABY!

The work place is for work, not play time with your dog. I like dogs, don't get me wrong, but most dogs are not trained well enough to be in a work environment. Why recently, have we allowed dogs to hold equal status with humans? i.e. restaurant!!?? A big no no in my book, grocery stores? department stores.. c'mon, it's a dog! Not everyone shares a love of your dog. Leave it at home, it's going to be more comfortable there anyway. We don't want to hear FiFi bark and whine, share its slobber and drool and whatever else. Let me, the human being, choose when I want to be exposed to an animal.

Lets hope the last two posters don't have children to pass on the vile hatred they have for animals.

What is it with so many people today? Can we please stop anthropomorphizing our animals and just let them be our pets? Can we cease with the cute, expensive outfits? the pet hotels? and taking them out to dinner with us? What's up with vet bills in the tens or thousands of dollars? Considering the amount of "need" in the world around us, I believe this situation has become arguably ludicrous.

Really tired of the fetishization of pets as surrogate children for so many mentally unbalanced people (i.e. Leona Helmsley leaving $12,000,000 to her friggin' dog and zilch to her kids). The amount of money people lavish on their animals while fellow human beings starve to death the world over sickens me. And regardless of whatever minimal benefits stupid exercises like the one above may provide for their ownders, please leave your dogs at home. I don't want some flea-ridden, slobbering beast trying to climb up on my lap while I'm trying to work. Like one's human offspring, the beauty of a pet is almost invariably in the eye of the beholder.

i have been raised around pitbulls ever since i was little. My dad has 2, my uncle has 1, and i have 1. They are the nicest dogs, protective yes, but not vicious!! i love them. they are a amazing dogs, and i could not imagine putting them to sleep. they are a part of the family! I could not imagine my life with out them!!! I dissagree with trying to ban the ownership of them. any animal deserves to be loved and cared for. not abused. it is the owner, not the dog. raise your dog right, and they will be good!

I work in an animal shelter and xylazine does NOT offer a humane way of putting animals to sleep. Many cats go into seizures and a co-worker was bit recently as he tried to euthanize a dog that was not completely put under. Ketamine is essential if the state of MD wants to give its animals a humane death. "The moral progress of a nation can be determined by the way in which it treats its animals." -Ghandi

I have apit bull and she is the BEST dog I have ever owned. The media loves to demonize this breed. The facts are Pit Bulls are one of the most stable people-friendly dogs in existence. The National Canine Temperament Testing Association tested 122 breeds, and Pit Bulls placed the 4th highest with a 95% passing rate! The abusive owners need to be punished not this wonderful breed

I am the owner of a staffie and she is one of the most intelligent, loving dogs that I have ever had. She is great with kids and loves their attention. We recently had to find a new rental house and had a horrible time because of the breed of dog that we have. It is very sad that people are still so ignorant when it comes to this breed. I have an English Pointer that is a rescue dog that I worry about more with kids than my staffie. He was abused and can show signs of aggression when he feels threatened. As responible owners we keep both dogs on leashes at all times and the two dogs are not left alone together. Ban bad owners, not good dogs.

The story above says, "Of the 798 bites reported in 2005, 75 were pit bull bites. The majority of the bites were from mixed breeds." Why not ban the other 723 breeds too? People have an inordinate fear of these dogs. Furthermore, pitbulls are a distinct breed and are sometimes incorrectly blamed for attacks by other breeds.

I myself have a pitbull and a doberman. im only 20 and i bought both these dogs with no prior experience with either breed. it's just like anything else, owners should research about the breeds. Give them a good environment to be in. Treat them with respect and show them love and they will do the same for you. People only tend to hear about the bad side of these breeds due to BAD OWNERS! Yes i understand they can be aggresive towards other animals, but what dog doesn't want to show it's dominance? Whats all this talk about kids being killed? It's called parental supervision. Another example of bad owners and bad PARENTS. You only hear about what the dog did. What about the person? It's just ignorant to try and ban such a magnificant breed. I love my dogs cuz i know they have back. If i were ever to be in trouble they would be there for me. All in all an owner and the surrounding neighbors need COMMON SENSE!

I have a pit bull breeder whom moved in beside me! The dogs have attacked my dogs serveral times through the fence. All neighbors are worried about these dogs. We all have small kids. We are all also very close to each other. But, because we are in the country (county) we cannot do anything!! I along with everyone else am tired of being imprisoned in my own neighborhood! I love dogs!! But these dogs should be kept out of neighborhoods such as ours. I don't care if there is one, but to breed them right next door isn't right! I have seen them pack with one another when they attack. One of these dogs got out and killed another neighbors dog and nothing was done. I have also seen the dogs bite their own owner and owners child. Animal control said that they had to be contained to their own yard. In which they are in a cow pen type of fence that they stick their heads through. I wish that there were something the other neighbors and I could do. We all feel stuck& we were all here first!

I'm so upset that everyone has to pay the price for the dog fighters, breeders of pits and bad owners.I'm really upset that these people of higher up can take our dogs, but can't stop dog fighting,ect.What is next!

wow, your friend was kindof an idiot for leaving a pitbull alone with another dog. pitbulls don't usully get along w/ other dogs, thats like Pitbull 101, and if you chose to own a pitbull and didnt know that, than whatever happns is your own fault becuase your the owner and shuld know better. the dog is just doin what its been bred to do for hundreds of years. your friend has no one to blame but herself.

That's a heck of an attitude for a Baltimore resident to have. Most reported violent crimes have some African-Americans involvement, so by your "logic" we should probably enact some sort of bill saying where they can and cannot live, and with significantly harsher penalties for them if they step out of line. I think we can all agree that sort of mindset is completely wrong - don't try to tell me it's okay just because it's directed at a dog breed instead of a person. Racial profiling is wrong across the board.

this person is right, breed bans make no sense. In places where pits are banned, there hasnt been a signifigant drop in bite incidents. Its a fact,look it up. Banning one breed makes nomore sense than banning one type of gun. Its the people not handlng potentialy dangerous things properly that are to blame, not the potentialy dangerous things themselfs. Also, all dogs bite. I read a study by an impartial org. that tested dog breeds temperments and found that of soemthing like 50 most populer breeds, pitbulls are the 4th least likely to bite. golden retrevers were,like, 5th most likely, but no ones screaming about banning them and most ppl wouldn't worry about leaving their kids alone with a golden retrever.

9:37 AM - I love dogs too, and I also own a nice dog. Guess what? He's a pit. Know why there're so many stories of pit attacks? Because people panic and report them more than they report any other breed. A lab bites you, well, he was just playing rough. A pit bites you, omg he was trying to murder you. Pits need good owners who are willing to take the time to understand the breed - they have a strong prey drive, meaning they're quick to go after things they perceive as 'prey' - like children or smaller dogs. Many breeds have this same trait, but they're not as plentiful as pits. The main problem is with the rampant, unregulated breeding. It's a cheap, tough dog, which is why it's so popular with bad owners. Look at the history of breed perception in this country. They used to want to outlaw Rotties, and before that Dobermans, and before that German Shepherds. Outlaw pits and bad owners will just find another breed to exploit. Breed bans solve NOTHING.

I agree strongly with Councilman Gardenia and I hope the bill he proposes goes through. I am so tired of hearing about pit bull attacks on children and other harmless pets. I know first hand that individuals who claim that it is how the pit bull is raised determies how they behave is untrue. My friend was one of those individuals until she came home one day from work to find that her adult female ppit bull had mulled and killed her own puppy. How this tragedy of attacks by these dogs have been allowed to continue is a disgrace to our society. Babies killed by family pit bulls only to be defended by so called dog lover is horriffic. I love dogs and own a nice dog. But we must protect our children, pets and neighborhoods from vicious animals and irresponsible owners. I pray this bill passes. A Baltimore County resident.

I would like to know if your canned prescription dog food has undergone the same testing that your other products have? I lost two dogs last week and the only common denominator that can be determined is your dog food.

it is wrong to kill an animal dogs are good it is the people who are bad i seen a person run over a dog tonight 05/19/07 and they tried to do it and i just sat there in my car hurt because i knew the dog was hurt and dieing and i could not do anything to help the poor creature it was so sad i live in hammond louisiana i call call law enforcement and gave them the license plate number i hope they catch them it not right to kill dogs in any kind of way

I'll bet that this person will get more jail/prison time than a DRUNK DRIVER who kills someone!!!. E.O.M.

To Sarah Ellis: What you 'think' has no bearing on scientific fact. Pitbulls become dangerous because they are the traditional breed used for illegal dog fighting. Their behaviors come solely from poor treatment, malnourishment, and abuse, not from their breed. I own a pit bull and she is more friendly, playful, and loving than any dog I have ever owned. Ignorant statement like yours, based in fear and not in fact, are detremental to the real probelm with dog attacks, animal cruelty....

I disagree with Vigilance and McIntire regarding the Pit bull breed. All one has to do is look at the statistics on dog attacks to see that the breed is very aggressive, even deadly. I think these dogs should not live in neighborhoods, but be contained in larger areas, such as farms. The attack that happened on Burke was in an area of row houses, where lots of children abide. Pit bulls should not live in these type of areas.

Hopefully soon all the fur stores will close and Ringling Brother Circus won't come here anymore, and then we'll be at the top of the list!

"Prescription Diet" is available at pet stores but you can only buy it with a prescription from your vet. So if you're buying the regular Science Diet dry food that you can buy without a prescription, you should be OK. You might want to check tje FDA's Web site for the latest list of brand that have been affected, though, and maybe check with your vet too.

What does 'PRECRIPTION DIET ' mean ? What's the difference between plain "Hills Science Diet " dry cat food ?