I can’t speak for all Pit Bull owners, but I can speak for me and my family. First, I am by no means a doctor or lawyer and I do not make over $100,000 a year, but I am an elementary school teacher and my husband is an electrician. If I thought that intelligence was based on what my yearly gross income was, I would not have poured my heart and soul into educating children. My husband and I have two kids and we own a beautiful American Pit Bull Terrier named Kaos. We did not purchase Kaos out of ignorance. We made an informed decision to bring a Pit Bull into our home after doing an extensive amount of research and after having interacted with several Pit Bulls in our community. We chose this breed for their loyalty, energy, playfulness, beauty and for their hardiness. We are fully aware that these dogs are extremely powerful and, if they wished, could impose a great amount of danger on a person or another dog. As far as the statistics go, I went to the American Temperament Test Society’s web page. The following are pass/fail percentages for several breeds I looked up- American Pit Bull Terrier, 86%, Beagle, 80.3%, Border Collie, 81.1%, Cardigan Welch Corgi, 78.6%, Collie, 79.9%, Golden Retriever, 84.6%, Miniature Poodle 77.9%, Toy Poodle, 82.4%, Papillon, 80%. Now, the American Pit Bull Terrier did not rank the highest, however, in response to your question, they did rank higher than the Golden Retriever. I have also included some of my own favorite breeds on this list. We ruled them out when making our decision to purchase a family pet. Now, as a responsible Pit Bull owner, I look at these statistics with an understanding that, if my Pit Bull were to attack somebody, or something, he could inflict much more damage than most of these other breeds. Because of this, I made sure that my dog was well socialized. We frequently visit our local off leash dog park, though we no longer let him run free (not because he is a Pit Bull, but because he is an un-cut male and now capable of mating.) We take him to family functions, parks, parades and camping. He wins hearts everywhere we go. As for the emotional aspect, I am a member of this web site because I love this breed. I have a very strong emotional relationship with my dog, as I’m sure many Golden Retriever and Papillon and Poodle owners do with theirs. To me, the loyalty and love that this breed is capable of invoking is yet another one of their best qualities. Also, to suggest that somebody who makes an argument from the heart can not also use good sense is irrational. Additionally, I guess that I am one of the 10% that understand your insinuations and, regardless of your intent, I was offended. I wouldn’t dream of going to a web site dedicated to another dog breed and questioning those enthusiasts on their IQ or income. Just my emotional, non-millionaire opinion.
Merry, I also would like to extend my sympathies for the loss of your pet. If you would like my advice, treat this dog the way you would have a pure bred lab attacking and killing your cat. I’m sorry if that sounds insensitive. It is not meant to, it just doesn’t make sense to me that you would treat the situation any differently than if a Poodle had attacked and killed your cat. It would have been just as much of a tragedy and it would have broken your heart just as badly. The fact that the dog was half Pit Bull does not warrant any more action than it would have otherwise. From personal experience, my husband and I have both owned labs, both have killed NUMEROUS cats and one had to be put to sleep because she because aggressive towards children! I’m not accusing all labs of being aggressive, only saying that it may be possible that the fact that this particular dog was part Pit may not be the reason it attacked your pet.
