Pit bulls gave me a pit bull education, and now I advocate against them

Pit bulls gave me a pit bull education, and now I advocate against them

Name: Steve
Victim: Pet
Location: Courtyard of apartment building, Maryland
Year of attack: 2019

Tell us about the attack

A month or so after I got my Newfie puppy, Floyd, a pit bull mix attacked him in the shared courtyard of our apartment building. I had to yank him into the air and kick the other dog away. As he was only 4 months old and around 30-40 lbs, I was able to lift him quickly. Turns out the attacking pit bull was owned by the boyfriend of a girl living in the building and the pit bull should never have been in the building to begin with. 18 months later, Floyd is around 150 lbs and is attacked again by another pit mix. This time, I can’t lift him so he runs towards door with the pit latched onto the hair on his neck trying to dig for skin. I was able to grab the pit, yank him off and throw him away far enough that Floyd and I could get inside and shut the door. This time it was an “emotional support” pit bull

How has your life changed as a result of the attack?
I no longer take my Floyd to dog parks and won’t walk him in areas I don’t know. I’m now scared to allow him near any other dogs. He loved other dogs when he was younger and now aggressively barks at all others. He’s still a Newfie so barking is the most he’ll do but he is still not the same dog.

When I was 18, I heard girls screaming outside my family’s house and went outside with my father to find a dog that was on fire. We were able to get help and save the dog. It was a pit bull mix. We adopted the pit mix, named it Kaybee, and gave it a great home. Still, I was never comfortable having other people around it, but didn’t think anything negative about pits until the attacks on my current dog. As a result of the attacks, my opinion about pits has completely evolved and I now support strong BSL (Breed Safety Laws.)

Legal Consequences
The first pit bull that attacked mine was not allowed there anyway so it was banned and the apartment tenant’s lease ended soon after. The 2nd one was a battle. The pit bull owner was apologetic but refused to remove her pit bull from the premises. As there was only one shared area for dogs to use for the entire apartment building, this was not acceptable so I told them it had to go. When I said I would contact animal control, I was informed that it already had a bite on its record so that would mean it would be euthanized. The owner decided to move out and probably let her pit bull attack other pets in her new apartment rather than have her vicious killer put down.

What would you like people to know as a result of your attack?
Pit bulls are responsible for the vast majority of fatal dog attacks on humans and especially children. But that is not the only concern: they are also bred to fight dogs and they have an extremely aggressive prey drive. They are vicious killers that do not belong around children, other pets or any decent person. If you want to guard your junkyard, then maybe a pit is the dog for you. Otherwise, let these mutant killers die out by eliminating the breeding population.