Pit bulls are NOT attack dogs, period, any more than any other terrier, such as a West Highland White Terrier, a Scottish Terrier, or a Stafford Terrier, the breed from which the Pit must directly derives.
Any reasonably intelligent dog of size can be a vicious attack dog- German Shepard, Labrador Retrievers, and especially Full size Poodles. If that's how you train it and raise it, it will attack, and fight to the death, anyone that either you direct it to, or who attacks you.
A pit is a very strong dog and reasonably large and heavy. If trained to, or if it's master is in grave danger, it is a very effective fighter. But that does not reflect upon the personality of the dog. Pits are FRIENDLY.
And to further argue along a different line, personalities dog to dog (any dog) vary far more than personalities breed to breed.
To single out specific breeds as unsuitable for pets is one thing. To do so without knowing much about the dog is entirely different. Pits were indeed designed to fight other dogs- a distinct flaw in their personalities because they are indeed vicious killers of other dogs. But they were also designed to be easy for their masters to handle- and generally pits are more submissive to humans than a wide variety of other breeds.
Far too many good pits get destroyed- killed- because of ignoramuses like you, DA. Far to many really nasty, awful dogs get saved simply because they are small and cute because of the same ignorance. Far too many dogs go through life with nasty balance problems because people think docking their tails is cute. Far too many go through life hacking and wheezing, unable to breath properly because people think pug noses are cute.
Frankly most dog owners shouldn't own a dog. They don't know how to care for them. They don't know how to train them. They don't even know how to feed them- god knows why a basically carnivorous creature is largely fed corn. They rarely know how to control them.
But it's usually not the dogs fault. It's the imbecile that owns them. Pits, in the hand of the right owner (not the jackasses who own them because of their reputation, and tend to turn out abused animals who live up to said reputation) are a wonderful dog. One of the better companion dogs, and a good dog for people with kids especially.
Articles that talk about vicious pits usually also talk about their equally vicious owners. Find an article about vicious pits that come from loving families. And then, when you find their aren't any, start blaming the guilty- the owner.
) made this groaning sound when he "settled in" or was getting petted just the way he liked, which to the uninitiated might easily sound like a growl. Now, I don't know if a trained service animal would still make this sound, but I would assume it would since that's not a behavior I could see wanting suppressed. But given that the person didn't even offer that as an excuse, I don't think a "pleasant groan" is the case here so in absence of other facts, I will have to agree.
