Pit bulls make more work for medical staff

There's an interesting report in the San Antonio Express News about bit bull attacks, and it says a study put together by some staff members at a hospital shows that attacks by pit bulls were more likely to kill people, and the injuries were more severe than those inflicted by other breeds.

The study is titled "Mortality, Mauling, and Maiming by Vicious Dogs" in the April, 2011, issue of "Annals of Surgery." Here's a link to the abstract with the following conclusion:

Attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs. Strict regulation of pit bulls may substantially reduce the US mortality rates related to dog bites.

Scary stuff. Pit bulls have a big fan base, though, and for every report about how dangerous they are there's someone ready to explain it away and say it's not the breed, it's a bad owner. But one has to wonder why the pit bull always seems to be the breed that's involved in illegal dog fights. Those bad owners use pit bulls for a reason.

Comments

[Suzanne Hildebrand]

I have a new neighbor who has brought a vicious pit into our neighborhood. They don't put him outside by himself, but when they are out, they let him run loose. He came after my dog or me, I'm not sure which, and I literally threw my dog into the house and grabbed a shovel and fended him off until his owner drug him away. I have already advised our Police Chief that I will now carry my gun when I go out front and if that dog comes into my yard again, I'll kill it.

[Geo]

Sounds like self defense to me, Suzanne.

[Matheus]

. but when did it become gultiy before proven innocent? i totally agree, the dogs didn't mean to do what they did, they did it to get love they thought that if they did this maybe they can get some love (i'm talking about the dog fight dogs.) when did it ever, EVER! become okay to kill a dog because it was a pit bull? you know a long time ago the pit bull was thought of to be the best dog any one could have? but then some day after a person decided that the pit bull wasn't a good dog that the dog was horrible! and ever since the breed has been put on the death list? if pit bulls never existed, you know we'd all be saying that a dog like the rottwelier was horrible and needed to be put down like some are saying about pit bulls for once people GIVE THE PIT BULLS A CHANCE AT LOVE AND TO PROVE THAT THEY CAN LIVE A LIFE LIKE THE GOLDEN RETIVER OR THE YELLOW LAB HAS!