Who should be punished?

I am with elevatethis.............look up ignorant in the dictionary, and the first definition will most likely be "...a lack of knowledge". People do stuff and say stuff because they are lacking the knowledge of it. If people were educated about the nature of these things, we wouldn't be in the predicaments we have of today. I'm sure that the guy who trained his dog to be aggressive felt awful about what happened to the kid, and probably isn't like to do it again. At the same token, if people knew more about the REAL nature of our beloved pet snakes, they wouldn't fear and judge them as much as they do.

Now there are 5 votes for put the pits to sleep.
I have to admit I was the first vote, but by accident, since I thought the question was whether or not to put the dogs that attack a kid to sleep. When I tried to correct it, it wouldn't let me. So my vote for putting ALL pits to sleep is not valid. It needed that little word to clarify it.
Sorry about that. As to the additional 4 votes? Not mine, I dunno. But I stand by the opinion that dogs that attack people uncontrolled should be humanely put down. Yes, it IS the people's fault, but that doesn't make the dog any safer to have around people.
Wolfy

I said "The irresponsible owners should be put to sleep." People make dogs the way they are. I have friends who have pit bulls who have been properly trained and they are very sweet dogs. Yes, there are many dogs who would love to take a chomp out of you, but they weren't born that way. The owner raised it either neglectfully or wanted it to be aggressive. I think a lot of irrisponsible people buy pits because they're "badass" and tough looking. Not because they want to raise the dog into a loyal friend.

I would be interested in hearing the reasons for the other five votes to put pits to sleep. My opinion that pits are great dogs is not exactly popular on some of the boards I frequent and I take a lot of heat for it. However it is my firm belief so I stand up for it. Why won't you guys (and or gals)?

That said, there are simply too many dogs needing responsible homes and not enough homes to go around. Take a look at the CL for my local area http://seattle.craigslist.org/pet/ the amount of pit types are staggering.

I don't think pits need to be put to sleep. Although there are some dogs that are damaged to the point of not being able to be rehabilitated. I think a majority of the dogs out there with problems can be fixed if you have the patience.

I don't think that pits should just be automatically euthanized based on their breed; if their temperaments, just like with any other breed, are erratic and unpredictable, it might be best to put them down to prevent any tragedies that could occur.. I don't know.

I do understand the humane society rules regarding fighting dogs. If the dog has been used for fighting, then it is euthanized, rather than trying to rehab then placing it. I truely believe that once a fighting dog, never trusted again IN TYPICAL SOCIAL SETTINGS. I capitalize that to make the point that I KNOW some people have 'rehabbed' fighting dogs, and think they can totally trust them. I will not. I wouldn't rust that something would trigger that response i.e. a small dog rushing up or by, a small child screaming in glee as they run near the dog.. whatever. It's just tragedy waiting to happen. And more bad press. Better to humanely put the dog to sleep than to take the chance.
Pits in general can be great dogs. YOu just have to differentuate between 'fighting dogs' that have been conditioned and trained, and a pit or pitmix that has been riased in a loving home.
That said there is the occasional dog that is "Born bad" and nothing can be done. It's rare, and nasty. But I've seen two so far. They were raised wonderfully, and treated with love and affection, and even worked with extensive training, but they still turned on people, and were aggressive. And NEITHER that I have seen so far was pit, or pit mix. I personally think it is like some brain problem with those two dogs.
But I'd like to re-state, my vote was to put the CERTAIN pits(that have attacked people unwarrented) to sleep, NOT put ALL pits to sleep.
Wolfy

I have a pit who is a rescue and is probably the smartest and sweetest animal I have ever had the pleasure to be around. He is excellent with children (and reptiles) and goes to work with me everyday! Everyone is afraid of him when they first meet him but immediately warm up when they get to know him(all he really wants is a belly rub, can you blame him). The media has portrayed these animals as killers and that is not true or fair! Ignorant is the perfect word! Irresponsible peolpe who have snakes and dogs give EVERYONE a bad name. How many people ask you "Why would you have one of those for a pet?"
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I have a 3 year old male pit bull, from a shelter, and he is the sweetest dog. Yes, he barks at strangers (don't all dogs) and looks intimidating but he is the least people and animal agressive dog that I've seen.....(we ltrust him enough to let him lick the face of my 7 month old son....my son loves him)
I believe that its the irresponsible owners that train them to attack for the owners own insecurities or "street cred". I use to live in an urban ("ghetto") community...every street hoodlum had a pit with the thick chain collar and they were all bascially fighting dogs.....those are the people/dogs that give the breed a bad name....The dogs are tortured into being an agressive animal (I've heard from people on the street that they feed them broken glass and gunpowder to toughen them up) and it seems like a contest who can have the most agressive uncontrollable dog.....Because of people like that, My dog and I get discriminated against.....(now that I live in the suburbs I can't even tell my neighbors what type of dog he is..(I say boxer mix...LOL)

I'm sure I've posted my opinion on this before, but I will do it again. Just to remind everyone, I have two pit bulls, and a house full of exotics. I'm very careful with my dogs. Both of my boys are neutered, both have been through obdience training, and both are carefully monitored. They are treated with a lot of love and a lot of disipline. They are not allowed to disobey myself or my husband, and they know that. Pit bulls are very smart dogs, as well as being very stubborn. You have to be more stubborn than they are.