comments from a former pit bull owner

So elderly people alone and elderly people walking small dogs should stay inside behind closed doors with their dogs forever??? We should all just allow the pit bulls to take over like thugs on the streets??? Pits should be removed from the face of the earth, both for their sakes, the sake of their owners or potential owners, and for the sake of their owners' other pets.

We had a beautiful pit bull that we loved dearly. She was a big, beautiful, loving, playful slobber box--around people, and I do mean all people, young, middle-aged, and old. But today was her third attack -- on animals. The first was a duck, and the second was a cat, both of which she killed. After killing them, she always backed away from them. She never tried to eat them. Today, the third attack was on our cherished chihuahua, our house pet that we had allowed outside to use the bathroom. Reba had her own fenced, gated yard. In the past, when our chihuahua had been outside, they would run nose-to-nose along Reba's fence (our chi on the outside and Reba on the inside)and wag their tails as if they wanted to play together. Our chi found a way into her fence early this morning. We heard high-pitched noises like those of a mockingbird. After listening for a few seconds, my husband and I realized it was our chihuahua screaming. Out pit bull was attacking her.

When we got the pit bull (Reba) off of her (who, by-the-way, did not attempt to bite us), our chi had blood on her left side, had a strange smell that we found later was fresh stool, and the look in her eyes showed she was in terrible pain. When we picked her up to examine her, she screamed. She could not put weight on her right foot at all, and she was hurt around her upper chest area and in her lower back.

The vet met us at the clinic. He found bite marks around her neck and upper chest and a deep bite wound on her back in the area of her kidneys. He heard chest noises through his stethoscope and said she has a bruised right lung.

He asked to keep her overnight for observation at no extra charge, because he is concerned about possible blood clots in her lung that could break apart and move to other areas. He's also concerned about damage to her heart, kidneys, and intestines. He's watching her for blood in her urine and stool.

We took excellent care of our pit bull. We never played rough with her. We handled her with gentle love. Nothing in our behavior toward her could have caused her to be aggressive toward animals. Even our vet stated that pits often do well with people, but it's other animals they have a problem with.

My husband's and my heart are breaking today because we had to put our bit bull down. But it's breaking, too, because our chihuahua will be lucky if she survives Reba's attack. We're waiting anxiously until tomorrow, hoping we do not hear from the vet tonight. He said he would call, even if it's midnight, if her condition becomes worse.

My husband and I were always the first to defend pit bulls, but never again. We have finally taken the blinders off about this breed of dog.

Anonymous Former Pit Bull Owner