Purebred Pit Bulls Fighting

Are pit bulls more aggressive than other dogs?

You don’t have to look far to find some tragic story of a child being horrifically mauled by a pit bull, which is known for its vise-like jaws. There are the frequent media accounts of pit bull dogfighting, which most famously involved former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who pleaded guilty and served prison time for and his role in conspiring in a dogfighting ring. In 2008, a team of University of Pennsylvania researchers completed a study of aggressiveness of 30 breeds of dogs. The researchers collected about 15,000 questionnaires for the year-long study. The researchers asked owners a series of questions concerning how their dogs reacted in various situations to other canines and humans they know as well as strangers. The questions included how does the dog react when a stranger arrives. The results found Chihuahuas and Dachshunds were the most aggressive toward both humans and other dogs. Those breeds, however, are smaller and usually inflict less-severe injuries. The findings were a mixed bag for Pit Bull Terriers. The dogs were among the most aggressive toward other dogs, particularly those they didn’t know. Pit bulls, the researchers found, were not significantly more aggressive than other breeds toward strangers and their owners. For nearly 35 years, a Missouri-based group has conducted its own research on canine aggressiveness. The American Temperament Test Society conducts a 10-step exam and has checked out nearly 31,000 dogs, according to its website. The test includes seeing how the dog reacts to strangers,reacts to someone the animal doesn’t know but tries to pet it, how it reacts to loud noises and its response to a stranger who approaches in a menacing fashion. The two types of pit bulls (the American Pit Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier) they’ve studied have aggression scores that are not as bad as boxers, bulldogs, collies, Great Danes, Greyhounds and Shetland sheepdogs. They are in the same range as the German Shepherd and golden retriever. Labrador retrievers scored better than pit bulls. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control & Prevention once conducted a study of 20 years worth of fatal dog bite data. The study found 66 people died through bite-related incidents involving various types of pit bulls, which was more than any other type of dog. Rottweilers were a distant second, with 39.

Fontana enacts new pit bull law - DailyBulletin.com

FONTANA - The City council, by a 5-0 vote, has passed an ordinance requiring all owners of pit bulls and pit bull mixed breed to spay or neuter their dog before it reaches the age of four months.

The ordinance mirrors a law San Bernardino County enacted several years ago and adopted by many area cities.

"We are one of the last cities in the area to adopt this," police Capt. Robert Ramsey said after Tuesday night's council meeting.

Pit bull is defined as any Stafforsdshire bull terrier, American pit bull terrier or American Staffordshire terrier.

Purebred pit bulls are exempted from the requirement if they are registered and the owner possesses such paperwork when requested by any Fontana Police Department employee.

The City Council also passed on second reading a resolution declaring its intent to participate in the state's "voluntary" redevelopment program.

The action was required under the state's legislative action allowing it to lift $1.7billion from redevelopment agencies this year and $400million in successive years.

In an interview, Mayor Acquanetta Warren said the city is hopeful that the state legislation allowing redevelopment agencies "to be robbed" will be struck down by the courts.

The League of California Cities and the California Redevelopment Association have filed a lawsuit challenging the new state RDA law.

City Manager Ken Hunt said Fontana's buy-in to continue its RDA program - the fourth largest in the state - is $32.5million.

City staff has "painfully" come up with the revenues to make that payment - due in January - feasible, Hunt said.

All of it will come from the city Redevelopment Agency, either from its general fund or from revenues pegged to the development of affordable housing.

That payment to the state severely limits Fontana's ability to assist developers with projects that would help them bring jobs into the city, Hunt said.

"I have had people coming in saying they wanted to do an affordable project and I have had to tell them no," Hunt said in an interview after the meeting. "It's just horrible."

A new park planned for the city has also been put on hold, he said.

"We either win in court or this is gone forever," Hunt said.

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