@Stonevintage Interesting chart and it makes sense. If people see what happens to the breeds committing the deeds, fearing their breed could be next, those people evidently woke up and smelled the coffee.
@jschrest People got around breed bans by stating their Pit Bulls or Pit mixes were Lab or Boxer mixes or else they said they were American Staffs or American Bulldogs in areas whose BSL did not include that breeds. When BSL passed in Australia and the UK, registration of American Staffordshire Bull Terriers skyrocketed as those who felt they were above the law chose to skirt the law on technicalities. This is why breeds such as AmStaffs and AB are now so frequently targeted for BSL as well, those breed owners can thank Pit Bull advocates for that. I also quit volunteering with shelters and fostering when everything became non stop Pit Bull. And thanks for the explanation on "Pitt", my phone doesn't do that, but it certainly is a plausible reason.
Here are the statistic on dog bite related fatalities caused by shelter dogs:
1858 - 1999 2 deaths by wolf hybrids
2000 - 2009 3 deaths: 1-Doberman, 1-Pit Bull, 1 Presa Canario
2010 - current 35 deaths: 23-Pit Bulls, 7-Bull Mastiffs, 2-Rottweilers, 1-Lab/Pit mix, 1-husky
@Magwart Good point. I have noticed too how those who rescue or advocate Pit Bulls are very quick to point the finger at German Shepherds and scream aggression to take the heat off of Pit Bulls and lay it on other breeds, especially German Shepherds. That is one of the reasons German Shepherd owners need to stay on top of the Pit Bull and BSL problem.
This child's mother was a known Pit Bull advocate and she did not feel the need to warn her child about people friendly Pit Bulls. Many neighborhood children played with this Pit Bull. This Pit Bull was temperament tested at the shelter prior to adoption.
6-year-old boy mauled to death by pit bull in North Carolina | Fox News
I know Texas and California are better represented across all breeds. It is pitiful that so many of those other breeds of dogs will lose their lives when there are homes waiting for them if only you could get them to shelters and rescues in other areas. But they are the silent victims, the adoptable ones who die because the shelters and rescues in areas where they would be adopted are full of unadoptable dogs. Pitiful, they did not have to die. Anybody with a heart will cry for these victims.
@Wolfy Dog Good point. The statistics show that the average age of a Pit Bull in a shelter is 18-24 months. They did a study once that spanned several shelters. While most bringing in Pit Bulls initially gave reasons as moving, dog got too big, and other bogus reasons, when shelter staff spent some time talking with them, most of those people admitted to turning in their Pit Bulls for unexpected animal aggression, be it with a family dog or cat, or other pets in the neighborhood.