# Did this dog need to be shot or not? (video) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 26, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204 "2012-11-26T22:03:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/41 "2012-12-21T14:45:54Z")
Well, the _prosecutor_ does not appear to think the dog needed to be shot. [Commerce City officer charged in controversial shooting death of dog](http://www.examiner.com/article/commerce-city-officer-charged-controversial-shooting-death-of-dog) > [@](#): > > The Adams County District Attorney’s Office said today that a Commerce City police officer who shot and killed a dog in a controversial Nov. 24 incident will face charges. > > Commerce City Police Officer Robert Price was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a class-six felony. RIP Chloe. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/42 "2012-12-21T17:25:42Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Oh my god, can we just STOP the perpetuation of this completely wrong statement. > > Pitbulls are not bred to kill, they were for decades a breed that was often referred to as Nanny dogs because they were so gentle with children and yet protective of anything that came near then. > > Even if we look at modern day training by morons, the dogs are trained to fight other dogs, they’re not trained to kill humans. Your statements would be more applicable although still untrue and unfair to the dogs if applied to German Shepards, the favorite dog for police service and guard dogs. They are trained to attack and restrain humans. > > Breed bans are one of the more moronic attempts by governments to find a way to penalize those who aren’t idiots to avoid actually having to deal with those who are. Seriously, actually deal with people who don’t control their dogs, or train them to attack, don’t just say “Well since the evil doers like pitbulls due to their jaw strength lets just ban pitbulls. That will fix the problem, I’m sure they won’t just move on to another breed” There is absolutely zero proof that pit bulls were historically referred to as Nanny dogs cite: > **[The Nanny Dog Myth Revealed](http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2010/08/nanny-dog-myth-revealed.html)** > > UPDATE 5/21/13: Two years and nine months after the Nanny Dog Myth Revealed was first published, BAD RAP, a major pit bull advocacy group pu... ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/43 "2012-12-21T17:35:27Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > There is absolutely zero proof that pit bulls were historically referred to as Nanny dogs > > cite: > > [The TRUTH About Pit Bulls: The Nanny Dog Myth Revealed](http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2010/08/nanny-dog-myth-revealed.html) While I concede that the nanny dog story is certainly questionable, I’ll point out that your citation comes from a hate site, pure and simple. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/44 "2012-12-21T17:36:38Z")
just in the past week alone, two people were killed by pit bulls in the USA. Savannah Edwards, 2-years old of Topeka, Kansas is the 207th American killed by a pit bull “Nannay dog” since the CDC stopped tracking deaths by dog breeds in 1998. the family “Nanny dog” was from a rescue and had passed the infamously worthless ATTS temperament test. Worth noting is that Topeka had just recently got rid of their pit bull ban. Just two days prior, a 34 yr old man was killed by his neighbors pit bulls. Esteban Alavez, 34-years old, of Selma, California died due to multiple dog bites, including a bite that punctured his jugular vein, according to Fresno County Coroner David Hadden. Homicide detectives reported to the scene on Highland. Detectives quickly determined what happened. Paw prints were all around the body, Curtice said. Authorities located four pit bulls at a nearby residence, where they found blood evidence on the dogs, Curtice said. Pit bulls kill on average a human every 3 weeks, although last week they bagged two in two days. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/45 "2012-12-21T17:56:23Z")
The police were within procedures to shoot the pit bull. Look what happened in Jersey this year: [http://www.northjersey.com/news/163975046.html?c=y&page=2](http://www.northjersey.com/news/163975046.html?c=y&page=2) Yet another “Nanny Dog” family pit bull starts mauling the owners 15 yr old daughter, in their own home. Police arrive, and: Officer Van Winkle slowly made his way down the stairs into the basement where he said conditions were quiet and dark. Van Winkle said he had his flashlight drawn as he continued down while calling out to announce that he was a police officer. Van Winkle described what happened next as “surreal.” He said the young victim came running out of a side room in the basement completely saturated in blood while the dog was chasing “two steps” behind. Van Winkle said the pit bull had a red ring of blood around its mouth. “It was like something out of a movie,” said Van Winkle. “I grabbed [the girl] and put myself between her and the dog. The dog was fixated on her and I don’t believe the dog ever even saw me. [The dog] ran into my legs trying to get to her. I had my gun drawn. With one arm covering [the girl], I fired two shots – one in [the dog’s] back and one in its head – and the dog spun around and went down.” “snatched the girl up and escorted her up the stairs where back-up officers were arriving. The secondary units grabbed medical kits and began administering first aid to the girl.” “My only first thoughts were to get the girl to safety,” said Van Winkle. “She had very severe injuries to her left arm. It was horrible.” Lets take a moment here to underline & bold text that the pit bull was shot point blank in the skull and the back. The shot to the skull bounced off and did not faze the pit bull one iota. After the girl was secured, Van Winkle said he moved back into the basement to ensure the dog was down, but instead he found the dog was gone. After conducting a search of the basement, Van Winkle said he saw the dog hiding in the corner of the laundry room. “Apparently the bullet bounced off [the dog’s] head,” Van Winkle said Boyle and Van Winkle made their way into the basement slowly. Van Winkle said the dog was staring at them and growling and as the two made their way closer the dog became aggressive and started coming toward them as if to attack. Van Winkle said he then fired one final shot in the dog’s head, putting it down. Nanny dog, my ass. Pit bulls are banned in over 600 USA cities, dozens of entire nations, entire Canadian provinces, and at US Air Force, Marine Corps, Army and Navy bases. In addition to the above event, there have been countless occasions where pit bulls were not fazed by multiple point blank gun shots by police. Animal Control said the pit bull in the above attack had been neutered and no previous hint of aggression, and was not provoked. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/46 "2012-12-21T18:04:29Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > just in the past week alone, two people were killed by pit bulls in the USA. > > Savannah Edwards, 2-years old of Topeka, Kansas is the 207th American killed by a pit bull “Nannay dog” since the CDC stopped tracking deaths by dog breeds in 1998. > > the family “Nanny dog” was from a rescue and had passed the infamously worthless ATTS temperament test. Worth noting is that Topeka had just recently got rid of their pit bull ban. > > Just two days prior, a 34 yr old man was killed by his neighbors pit bulls. Esteban Alavez, 34-years old, of Selma, California died due to multiple dog bites, including a bite that punctured his jugular vein, according to Fresno County Coroner David Hadden. > > Homicide detectives reported to the scene on Highland. Detectives quickly determined what happened. Paw prints were all around the body, Curtice said. Authorities located four pit bulls at a nearby residence, where they found blood evidence on the dogs, Curtice said. > > Pit bulls kill on average a human every 3 weeks, although last week they bagged two in two days. Ah, hate. That clarifies. For the record, do you know _why_ the CDC stopped tracking dogbite fatalities by breed? Secondly, “a human every 3 weeks” is 17 a year, out of a population of 314,980,138 [as of this moment](http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html). That’s trivial by any standard. But it’s also not true. Last year, 2011, was a higher-than-usual year for dogbite fatalities – [there were 30 in the US](http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/dog-attack-fatalities-2011/). Noting that the blog uses the known-to-be-questionable breed identification from the police and media reports, only 14 of those mention “pit bulls,” “pit bull mixes,” or “pit-bull-type dogs,” and that’s likely to over-represent the breed. But even taking that at face value, that’s 14 humans claimed to have been killed by “pit bulls” in a higher-than-usual year. Over the past 40 years or so, the average has been lower (I had a data point at one time that was for a specific range of 40 years, but I’ve lost it – the average was about 17 a year). It’s been going up lately – as has the population overall. In 2000 it was 26 fatalities, in 2011, 30 fatalities. Note that your [Topeka story](http://www.wibw.com/home/localnews/headlines/Dog-Attack-Victim-Identified-183572601.html) does contain these words from a dog trainer: > [@](#): > > A local trainer with 25 years of experience, Mose Hugghis, says this sort of thing could happen with any breed. > > “Sometimes you need to know the health of the dog, if it’s not feeling good, if it’s not active around other kids,” he said. “Putting the dog in that situation can be harmful sometimes. But in this situation here, it could be any breed.” Anyway, you can take comfort in the fact that in the case we are discussing, it appears that a dangerous human killed an innocent pit bull, so score one for your side. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/47 "2012-12-21T18:13:34Z")
as far as police having to shoot a pit bull point blank with multiple shots, and the pit bull still survives and continues mauling: > **[IOL | News that Connects South Africans](https://www.iol.co.za/mercury/pit-bull-mauls-man-to-death-1.1235842)** > > Discover the world of IOL, bringing you a mix of current news across politics, sport, business, motoring and lifestyle. Telling your stories and driving change! this just happen this February: this man was killed in 2012, when his next door neighbors pit bull escaped and started mauling him…police arrived, and shot the pit bull point blank…it still kept mauling him…police shot it again, point blank…it still kept mauling him…so, not to be out done, the police shot it a 3rd time…but the pit bull shrugged the bullets off its back as if it were a bad case of fleas…so, the police reviewed their options, and shot it point blank a 4th time…but the pit bull just laughed it off, knowing it was culled over hundreds of years to withstand great pain while maintaining its goal of killing a human totally unprovoked (while on his own property)…2 more point blank shots, 6 total, and the same thing…pit bull unfazed…since the police gun only had 6 rounds, they had to stop, remove the clip, insert a new clip…then shoot the pit bull once more point blank…the victim watched in horrow as his blood slowly oozed out of him, while the pit bull tugged and twisted with all its weight, in an effort to kill him before the police could kill the pit bull…one final round, 8 bullets total, and the pit bull died (nutters, take a moment to mourn the loss of the “understood” pit bull).PS as a foot note…at about the 6th shot, the human died. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/48 "2012-12-21T18:15:10Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > The police were within procedures to shoot the pit bull. > > Look what happened in Jersey this year: > > [http://www.northjersey.com/news/163975046.html?c=y&page=2](http://www.northjersey.com/news/163975046.html?c=y&page=2) Heh. So if a dog in New jersey bites someone, a dog in Colorado should be shot? Are you medieval? Let’s look at part of your story you did not quote: > [@](#): > > Van Winkle described what happened next as “surreal.” He said the young victim came running out of a side room in the basement completely saturated in blood while the dog was chasing “two steps” behind. Van Winkle said the nearly 100-pound, year-and-a-half-old male pit bull had a red ring of blood around its mouth. Hell, let’s look at what you _actually_ quoted: > [@](#): > > Van Winkle described what happened next as “surreal.” He said the young victim came running out of a side room in the basement completely saturated in blood while the dog was chasing “two steps” behind. Van Winkle said the pit bull had a red ring of blood around its mouth. Notice a difference? I’ll help: > [@](#): > > the nearly 100-pound, year-and-a-half-old male is missing from what you posted. 100 pounds is too heavy to be a pit bull. The UKC Breed Standard says males should be 35 to 60 pounds. Your cite is about some sort of mix or crossbred dog, perhaps with Mastiff in him. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/49 "2012-12-21T18:16:44Z")
You don’t find anything…overly dramatic in Van Winkle’s description of his own heroism? ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/50 "2012-12-21T18:20:39Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Ah, hate. That clarifies. > > For the record, do you know _why_ the CDC stopped tracking dogbite fatalities by breed? > > Secondly, “a human every 3 weeks” is 17 a year, out of a population of 314,980,138 [as of this moment](http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html). That’s trivial by any standard. > > But it’s also not true. Last year, 2011, was a higher-than-usual year for dogbite fatalities – [there were 30 in the US](http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/dog-attack-fatalities-2011/). Wrong > **[2011 U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities - DogsBite.org](https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2011.php)** > > 2011 U.S. dog bite fatality statistical data collected and recorded by DogsBite.org. Source citations for each fatality victim are located in Fatality Citations. there were 31 humans killed by all breeds in 2011; 70% were by pit bulls (22 people killed). This year alone 8 children have been killed by Nanny Dogs. That’s just the children. Pits are the only breed that kill a high number of adults each year, as they do children. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/51 "2012-12-21T18:23:41Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > You don’t find anything…overly dramatic in Van Winkle’s description of his own heroism? Considering it was witness by Animal Control officer Boyle, who was also interviewed, no. A pit bull that survives one point blank shot to its head, and one to its back, then comes back to attack again, is dramatic. Even more so, it there other one above, that survived 7 point blank police gun shots, before the 8th killed it, as it mauled a full grown adult male to death. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/52 "2012-12-21T18:26:19Z")
Never mind extraneous stories – what do you think of the prosecutor in the case we’re talking about? He or she thinks the policeman committed a felony. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/53 "2012-12-21T18:46:32Z")
no pit bull is considered under control, just because it has an loop pole around its neck there are countless pit bull nutters who upload videos of their pit bulls pulling cars cites: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JPustvoNavY/hqdefault.jpg "superblue pulling car") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPustvoNavY) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU9hFOOaNfk) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4b12B_u0jw) ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/54 "2012-12-21T20:16:12Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Heh. > > So if a dog in New jersey bites someone, a dog in Colorado should be shot? Are you medieval? > > Let’s look at part of your story you did not quote: > > Hell, let’s look at what you _actually_ quoted: > > Notice a difference? I’ll help: > > is missing from what you posted. > > 100 pounds is too heavy to be a pit bull. The UKC Breed Standard says males should be 35 to 60 pounds. > > Your cite is about some sort of mix or crossbred dog, perhaps with Mastiff in him. The city this happened in banned pit bulls and their mixes, and any breed that resembles a pit bull. The owner was in violation of the city ban. As far as your claim their are no 100 lb pit bulls: cite: > **[HUGE 100 POUND XXL LARGE MALE PITBULLS BULLY XTREME](https://www.bossykennels.com/Males.html)** > > Professional Service “ARNOLD IS PERFECT FROM HEAD TO TOE. WEIGHING IN AT BETWEEN 108-115 POUNDS THIS BOY HAS IT ALL. IN ALL MY YEARS AND ALL OF THE XXL BULLY SHOWS I HAVE ATTENDED I HAVE YET TO SEE A BETTER LOOKING XL BULLY PITBULL.” here is another that is UKC ADBA verified & registered red nosed pit bull at 142 lbs [http://www.muglestonspitbullfarm.com/males/goliath.html](http://www.muglestonspitbullfarm.com/males/goliath.html) Seems that same UKC you referenced, in fact verifies and registers pit bulls well over 100 lbs next? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/55 "2012-12-21T20:26:29Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > T > As far as your claim their are no 100 lb pit bulls: Well, it’s about what your definition of a “pit bull” is. That does not look to me like an American Pit Bull Terrier. It looks to me like a breed that has become more and more popular in the last 10-20 years, the “American Bully.” It’s not a universally recognized breed, but it’s a mix of various bull-type dogs. You can read about them [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bully). APBT usually top off at around 65-70 pounds or so for a healthy non-overweight dog. If you look in your description, he’s described as a “bully.” That’s what it means. [This is more like your archetypal American Pitbull Terrier](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/American_Pit_Bull_Terrier_-_Seated.jpg/553px-American_Pit_Bull_Terrier_-_Seated.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/56 "2012-12-21T20:33:56Z")
as far as the prosecutor wanting to sue the cop, he has absolutely limited knowledge of the law regarding when you can / can not sue an individual officer: > **[Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](https://www.yahoo.com/)** > > Latest news coverage, email, free stock quotes, live scores and video are just the beginning. Discover more every day at Yahoo! This dog owner had a pit bull that was banned by the city 7 years ago. The pit bull escaped, and the next door neighbor was concerned enough about it to call 911 (and not animal control). Unless a call comes in that indicates the dog is a threat to humans, police do not respond. In most cities, animal control doesn’t respond in any reasonable time frame…many documented cases were they arrived days later, or even not at all. Sorry, but the pit bull nutter who banned (illegal) dog was roaming the streets, will never ever win a case against an individual officer whose job is to “protect and serve” the individual that called 911, as well as innocent passerby’s. Just ask the widow of the 34 yr old man mauled to death by his neighbors pit bulls that “snuck out” last week in California. Lets follow this case and see if it isn’t laughed out of court, if it even goes that far. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/57 "2012-12-21T20:38:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, it’s about what your definition of a “pit bull” is. That does not look to me like an American Pit Bull Terrier. It looks to me like a breed that has become more and more popular in the last 10-20 years, the “American Bully.” It’s not a universally recognized breed, but it’s a mix of various bull-type dogs. > > You can read about them [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bully). > > APBT usually top off at around 65-70 pounds or so for a healthy non-overweight dog. If you look in your description, he’s described as a “bully.” That’s what it means. > > [This is more like your archetypal American Pitbull Terrier](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/American_Pit_Bull_Terrier_-_Seated.jpg/553px-American_Pit_Bull_Terrier_-_Seated.jpg). sorry, but the one website clearly states the owner has it registered with the AKC as being a pit bull. This is why Commerce City specifies their pit bull ban to include pit bulls and pit bull mixes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/58 "2012-12-21T20:41:39Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > sorry, but the one website clearly states the owner has it registered with the AKC as being a pit bull. > > This is why Commerce City specifies their pit bull ban to include pit bulls and pit bull mixes. Yes, it is a mix of some sort, and these laws defining “pitbulls” would, I imagine, include this “American Bully” as a pitbull or pitbull-type dog. But that dog is clearly not an American Pitbull Terrier. It looks like it’s been mixed with a mastiff of some sort, or maybe an American bulldog. Those dogs, too, often get lumped into the general “pitbull” category. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/59 "2012-12-21T20:51:44Z")
As for the story, I have mixed feelings about it. I don’t think the dog should have been shot. That said, I know what the reputation of pitbulls is, and the people taking care of the dog should have exercised extra caution. I know, shit happens, and the circumstances that led the dog to getting loose sound like they were exceptional. I feel bad for the dog, and I feel the officers went too far, but I don’t really see what they did as being actionable. You’ve got to be extra careful if you own or take care of these dogs or any dog that looks like a pitbull. I don’t think the breed deserves the reputation it has, but I’m also a pragmatist and realist when it comes to these matters, and it’s your job to keep your dog or any dog you’re taking care of safe. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204/60 "2012-12-23T00:29:51Z")
You keep saying “sorry,” but you’re not. You link to dogsbite, a known hate site that uses completely trash methodology to generate its statistics (they just scan the web for “pit bull” and accept all claims at face value that make pit bulls look bad) run by a known liar, Colleen Lynn. It’s no more a reliable source than getting racial statistics from Stormfront. Then you link to some backyard breeder selling American Bullies, showing how deep and thorough your lack of knowledge is on this topic. If you’d liked to a site for the entertainer Pitbull you’d have been roughly as accurate. You then link to a site about the legalities of _suing_ a police officer, and act like you’re refuting me – I said the prosecutor is _charging_ the officer, not suing, which of course is legal and all-too-frequent. Your own links show you’re reacting emotionally and not even reading what you’re responding to. You also call the ATTS temperament test “infamously worthless.” It’s derided by pit bull haters, but that’s not the opinion of knowledgeable dog people. It’s certainly more reliable breathless scare articles gleaned off of dogsbite, for crying out loud. Look, I’m not some lone person making this up – the fact that the “pit bull problem” is one of sensationalism and emotionalism is well-known, tons has been written on this subject. Here’s one by someone who does not have pit bulls but is capable of some objectivity: [Toublemakers](http://www.gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_06_a_pitbull.html). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-dog-need-to-be-shot-or-not-video/642204.md?page=4)