When a year-old pit bull attacked Dorothy Routhier's dog Wiley late last year, she had to call police to save his life.

In the end, Kingston police Chief Donald Briggs was forced to shoot the pit bull twice in the head before it loosed its grip on the throat of Routhier's 11-year-old black Labrador retriever.

Witnesses told a harrowing story of the older dog howling and becoming tangled in his own leash as bystanders tried to pull the pit bull away and beat it with a shovel to make it let go.

It's with attacks like that in mind that some south-of-the-border lawmakers are considering banishing pit bulls from the Bay State. The Granite State, meanwhile, has already rejected one effort to control breeds of dogs with reputations for attacking other pets and people.

A bill that would have required owners of pit bulls, Rottweilers and Doberman pinschers to get special permits failed to make it out of a House committee when it was introduced in New Hampshire in 2001.

In Massachusetts, a series of high-profile attacks by pit bulls this year prompted a legislative committee to consider a statewide ban on the breed as well as other laws to control aggressive dogs.

"I don't think they would go for it in New Hampshire," said longtime Rep. Ron Belanger, R-Salem.

In a state with wide-open space and a strong belief in personal freedom, Belanger said, most legislators wouldn't support a ban.

Neither do pit bull owners and breeders in the Bay State, who packed a hearing on the bill last week in Boston, arguing that a ban is uncalled for.

Nature vs. nurture

To detractors, pit bulls are violent killing machines with bad attitudes and a predisposition to attack.

A study by the federal Centers For Disease Control and Prevention found pit bulls were responsible for killing 60 people in the United States between 1979 and 1996, more than any other breed. Rottweilers were second with 29. In all, there were 279 human deaths by canines during the study period, according to the study.

Lisa Peterson, a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club in New York, said pit bulls do not have a natural disposition toward violence. But some owners deliberately turn them into lethal weapons, she said.

"They are raising their dogs to be more like weapons and less like family pets," Peterson said.

Valorie Hayes, spokeswoman for the Salem Animal Rescue League, believes that pit bulls can be family dogs. But she agrees "there are people who definitely acquire a pit bull for protection."

Rapper DMX posed with a pit bull baring its fangs on the cover of his record "Year of the Dog."

Pit Bull Energy Drink first promoted itself with the slogan "attitude in a can!" And drug dealers use pit bulls to intimidate neighborhoods and protect their products, according to Michael Keiley, manager of Nevins Farm animal shelter in Methuen.

"There are bad people out there who are making pit bulls scary to everyone," Keiley said.

If the legislation passes, Massachusetts would become the first state to ban the breed. But at east two American municipalities already prohibit the animal: Denver and Prince George's County in Maryland.

In Denver, pit bulls were rounded up and euthanized after the ban went into effect, according to the American Kennel Club.

While dogs have been euthanized in New Hampshire, that step is taken only in the most extreme cases. Forty-one pit bulls in Stratham were put down in 2002, but only because they'd been trained as fighting dogs and officials said the animals couldn't be properly socialized.

New Hampshire lawmakers typically are strong defenders of dog owners' rights, said Belanger, the Salem representative.

Belanger said any laws should focus on dog owners who neglect their responsibility to properly train their animals.

"It's not the dogs, it's the owners," he said.

Keiley agreed, saying that pit bulls can be docile animals if trained correctly.

Of two pit bulls adopted from his shelter recently, one accompanies its owner when reading to toddlers and the other makes visits to local nursing homes, he said.

But bad dogs get the headlines. And the headlines have been big.

The euthanized pit bulls from Stratham and the animal shot by Briggs for attacking the much older dog are just the beginning of the cases that have been in the news.

In January 2006, two pit bulls were shot and killed by a Derry police officer after they attacked Carrie McGovern, then 31, in her home.

In Massachusetts, Samantha Gaylord's pit bull Leo turned on her at her Haverhill home last month, ripping into her leg, abdomen, arm and buttocks. Police shot the dog in the home.

In Lawrence this year, a police officer shot two pit bulls attacking their owners outside a house on Lowell Street.

And pit bulls named Tobey and Sheba are on "death row" at the Lawrence pound after attacking and nearly killing a chow chow named Oscita as she was being walked by her owners.

Lawrence police Chief John Romero wants to euthanize Tobey and Sheba because he considers them dangerous. The owner is appealing the decision in court.

Strong bites, severe injuries

Keiley said pit bulls are muscular dogs with strong bites that can inflict more serious wounds than other breeds.

"Yes, they are powerful dogs," he said. "That does not make them more inclined to bite."

Massachusetts state Rep. Vincent Pedone, D-Worcester, the legislator leading the effort to outlaw pit bulls, said the dogs' strength is the reason he doesn't buy the argument that other breeds bite just as often.

"When these dogs do attack, it is violent and vicious and dangerous," Pedone said. "With a smaller dog you can defend yourself. You cannot do that with a pit bull."

Pit bulls can be traced back to England, where they were used by butchers and farmers to control cattle and were bred to be courageous, persistent and impervious to pain. A strain of the breed used for pit-fighting other dogs was imported to the United States in the mid-1800s.

The United Kennel Club in 1898 became the first registry to recognize the American pit bull terrier as a distinct breed.

According to the kennel club, American pit bull terriers make excellent family companions and are especially good with children. In fact, the group does not recommend them as guard dogs because they are so friendly, even with strangers.

But because they can be aggressive toward other dogs and have such powerful builds, the club cautions that pit bull terriers need owners who will socialize and obedience-train them.

Even some who agree that bad owners, not bad genes, are responsible for vicious pit bulls say there's no room for the dogs in the Bay State.

Kathy and Dennis Larocque of Lawrence lost their greyhound Smash when a loose pit bull literally ripped away the smaller dog's chest six years ago.

Kathy Larocque said she supports a ban on pit bulls because too many pit bull owners are irresponsible.
 

But in New Hampshire, Hayes, at the Salem Animal Rescue League, said a ban would never fly.

"I think people in New Hampshire would like to decide for themselves what their ability to care for any animal is, whether it's a llama or a cat or dog," she said.

"After all," she added, "our state motto is 'Live Free or Die.'"

Staff writer Gordon Fraser contributed to this report.

 

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