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my 8 lb. Maltese was attacked by 3 pit bulls who ran across a 25 yard stretch of grass in Central Park to get him. My 2 dogs were harnessed and leashed; I was carrying my Shih-tzu. It was one of the worst experiences of my life and it is a miracle that he escaped and is alive after surgery, a drain, and many stitches. I think that pitbulls who are being trained to fight (which I am sure is the case here) are the danger and I recommend that both the dogs and their insecure hostile angry perverted owners be neutered.

I am a female in my thirties. I have had a pit bull for seven years that I adopted from the SPCA.I am deeply saddened at the way society looks at these dogs.

All my friends thought I was crazy when I first adopted him, now everyone loves him.My friends kids lie on the floor and play with him.I also have another dog and they are best friends.I take him to an off lease park to play and I have never had any problems with him.He is the sweetest most loving dog and I just adore him.I never in a million years believe he would ever harm anyone.

I have had dogs my whole life and believe with all my heart that it is how you raise them.

When are we going to stand up and shout enough is enough and start putting people who abuse these wonderful dogs by fighting them in jail.

we are their only voice.

I have owned two adult pit bull mixes for seven years without incident--they have been bitten by other dogs but never retaliated. They are sweet, clownish, eager to please and incredibly intelligent. Thanks to Brian Lehrer for this opportunity to set the record straight--and we also need to find ways to separate dogs from owners who abuse them or are irresponsible. Maybe the ASPCA officer can offer some suggestions.

While it may be difficult to prove that one breed of dog is more vicious that another, we all know that dogs are bred to enhance certain characteristics - either physical or psychological. Consequently, certains breeds make better herders, or even better seeing-eye dogs, for example.

Therefore, I don't find it at all difficult to believe that in-breeding could make one breed more aggressive than another. This doesn't mean that every "pit bull" is a killer. I have friends who own the breed. However, when was the last time you heard about a cocker spaniel attacking, mauling, and killing a total stranger.

I think the term "inherently vicious" is a poor choice of words. The problem with pit bulls, from my point of view, is that the way their powerful jaws work is different from any other type of dog, and are inherently more capable of causing worse injuries. This is a factual issue, quite unrelated to fuzzier questions of temperament and training, and I think the debate on pit bulls would be more productive if we focused on it. Their jaws are enormous and capable of locking down on whatever is in their mouth. No other dog has this capability, and I think it is sufficient reason for pit bulls to be subject to more regulation than other breeds. For example, I know a woman who was playing with a friend’s pit bull, by everyone’s account a well-trained and sweet-natured dog. She was holding a tennis ball and was about to throw it when the dog leapt up to grab it, and in the process tore her cheek open. She needed many stitches and is now permanently disfigured. This would never had happened had she been playing with another breed of dog. Likewise the numerous injuries sustained by people all over the country. It is clearly, clearly worse to be bitten by a pit bull than by any other breed.
As for the issue of temperament, I suspect that what bothers (and frightens) many people is the demeanor of the people who OWN pit bulls as much as the dogs themselves. Often I see pit bulls in my neighborhood (the east village) wearing gigantic studded leather collars or harnesses, being walked by men who look like they’ve got some issues with rage or hostility. It’s menacing, not because of the breed of dog but because of the absurdly aggressive posturing that led their owners to choose the dog. Even people who don’t put their pit bulls in studded harnesses often seem to have a confrontational attitude. Twice I have politely asked people with unleashed pit bulls to put their dog on a leash and both times they refused, yelled at me, and called me names. Now I just cross the street. I also wonder what sort of person would think it's a great idea to have a dog that they know will frighten so many people, regardless of whether or not that fear is misplaced. It's like walking around with a baseball bat - the dogs aren't inherently dangerous, but it looks menacing, and some people clearly think that's cool. I question their judgment.

We're having a terrible problem in Central Park at West 93rd St with irresponsible pit bull owners. 1 owner's dogs have attacked 4 neighborhood dogs over the past 5 weeks nearly killing the last dog. We also have a problem of young men training their pit bulls in this same section of the park - hanging their dogs by their jaws from tree limbs, beating them and other aggressive inducing abusive behavior.

Many residents have reported the problems and have met with no response from the 24th precinct or the park police. The problem is escalating. Will we have to wait until a child or adult is attacked? The irresponsible dog owner's must be dealt with and the dog's being abused need to be saved.

All this uproar...where is the uproar when a child is abused? When a woman is raped? "Athletes" are allowed back on the team when under suspicion / allegation of rape...

Where are our priorities?

Certain dogs are dangerous if ill trained, they also attract a certain kind of violent owner so.. like in some European countries, the answer is a special mandatory license to own one.

Dear Brian,

I live in Morristown, NJ. There is no ban in my city against pit bull terriers. Back in 2002, my wife and I came across a pit bull puppy wandering about without supervision. I pulled over to see if he had a collar and he tore off. I chased him through a series of back yards and caught-up to him as he was killing a tied-up miniature poodle (which survived after several surgeries).

The pit bull puppy bit me as I was freeing the poodle, I called the Morristown Police and they arrived at my house with the offending pit bull in the back of their car. I identified him and assumed that he'd be tested for rabies.

But, to make a long story short, a judge refused to have him tested (which means he'd have been killed in the process), so I had to go through the thirteen injection rabies series for my own protection.

Eventually, it was revealed by the police that the owner was notorious, known to the judge, breeds these dogs for fighting and, when they're young, let them run free to learn to fight.

The rest of my life, I will suffer with joint pain from the rabies vaccine. I have nothing against pit bulls, only my own city for allowing this.

I think it's the people who have them who are inherently vicious. I can't speak to the dog, I'm not an expert but he's on your show. But I have never seen anyone who has a pit bull who has the dog for reason except for purposes than protection or even just to scare people. The dog gets a bad rap because of their owners.

The term "pit bull" doesn't even refer to a specific breed of dog. It's a term that is used to refer to American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, mixed breeds and non-related dogs that simply resemble these breeds.

I'd bet that a lot of times you hear about pit-bull attacks in the news media, there is no real concept of what kind of dog actually is responsible. (Actually, it's the owner who is responsible, no matter what type of dog.)

I was attacked and bitten by a pit bull as a child. Nevertheless, I know that the behavior of pit bulls is an extension of how they are raised and cared for and by the compassion and stability of their owners. In the custody of monsters they can become monsters.

I have been around dogs my whole life and used to be afraid of pit bulls. There was no reason for this fear beside what I had been exposed to in the media. I started volunteering for an animal shelter about 10 years ago and got to know pit bulls very, very well. They have a lot of energy, and are very excitable but they are the sweetest most sensitive, and most mis-represented dog out there. They are great dogs and so misunderstood, and I wound up adopting one myself.