He's all torn up over it, understandably.
Yup. Pitties are capable of doing some damage, but it's really only 1% 'what the dog is like' and 99% 'how you react to the dog.
Pits are actually very good dogs. It's the element that they've been associated with that gives them a bad rep. If Chihuahuas had been associated with thugs instead of Pitbulls, people would be wanting to ban them instead.
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Of course, the man is upset. He & some others head will roll when the Bullington's sue & they most likely will.
There's been many of those stories where a pit has killed and/or attacked but the owner's response is "but he/she is a good dog".
Whens the last time you heard of a Chihuahua attacking or killing a child or an adult? Not sure why you associate a thug with a pit bull. I've known good, decent people that owned pits, they just didn't use any common sense by having a pit in the first place. jmho