Recent attacks renew fervor in pit bull-banning debate

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

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SALT LAKE CITY -- Two pit bulls attacked a man in South Salt Lake Friday morning. It's the second such attack in two days and the fourth this summer.

Now some cities are looking to regulate, even ban the breed. But many people say it's actually the owners who need regulation.

"The guy said he was outside and the dog attacked him," said gas station owner Ahmed Nazir.

Police say two unleashed pit bulls approached a man outside a gas station at 3900 South and Main Street. When they got close, he got scared.

"As the pit bulls started to approach him, he started kicking one of the dogs," said South Salt Lake police Capt. Brian Stahle.

The dog fought back, biting the man in the face and arm.

Police picked the animals up a few blocks away, and when they did the dogs seemed quite friendly.

"The dogs were respective. They showed no signs of aggression toward the officers," Sahle said.

But the fact these dogs can turn violent so quickly alarms some city councils. Ogden recently proposed regulations against pit bulls; Orem is considering some now; Springville has had regulations against the breed for years; South Jordan has banned them altogether.

**South Jordan dog bites**

Year	Total Bites	Pit Bulls
2000	42	1
2001	40	2
2002	34	1
2003	82	5
2004	83	1
2005	79	1
2006	85	3
2007	112	7

It seems that each time a council tries to regulate the breed, the public outcry gets louder and the city changes its positions. The Humane Society of Utah says that's because it's unfair to target just pit bulls. "Every dog has the capability to bite someone, and we like to consider that what we call ‘breedism.' It's the equivalent of racism or sexism with people," explained Gene Baierschmidt, director of the Humane Society of Utah.

The Humane Society says it would rather see vicious dog ordinances that would regulate all dogs and punish their owners. Because ultimately, the society says it's not the dog but how the owner handles it that's the issue.

"If they do their job a lot, and don't make them aggressive, and socialize and train them, and spay and neuter them, they've got a good chance their dog won't be aggressive and won't bite somebody," Baierschmidt said.

The Humane Society says it adopts out hundreds of pit bulls every year and rarely, if ever, has any problems.

However, those who favor pit bull regulations say there are too many attacks for how small the breed's population is. For more information on both sides of the issue click on the related links to the right of the story.

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Story compiled with contributions from Amanda Butterfield and KSL News producer Linda Williams.