In the past month or so, pit bulls have killed a baby in Ohio, attacked a 7-year-old girl in New York, jumped off a balcony and bitten a man and his dog in Milwaukee and killed a Chihuahua in an Austin, Minn., dog park.
But pit bull owners say the breed is misunderstood, and they are fighting back. Locally, rescue and adoption networks sprung up around the Twin Cities and the south metro, complete with foster parents and foster care, to help abused dogs and place them with new owners.
In the latest twist, pit bull aficionados in the south metro and around Minnesota are participating in "pittie parties," parading pit bulls through parks to celebrate the breed and what they say is the dogs' caring and playful nature.
"They're just so loving and loyal it's incredible," said Mandi Morgart, a Prior Lake woman who founded Rescue Wire, a rescue information network, and who participated in a "pittie parade" last weekend in Fridley. More than 100 people paraded almost as many dogs for about a mile through Locke Park.
Among the more colorful T-shirts worn by the scores of owners who showed up, some from as far away as Duluth: "Love-A-Bull," "Kiss-A-Bull" and "Dangerous My [expletive]."
"We're just trying to draw attention to the fact that pit bulls are just normal dogs, and they have this reputation that is not deserved," said Kirsten Neilson, executive coordinator of Secondhand Hounds, an Edina-based animal rescue that organized the parade in Fridley. "Local pit bull owners are just normal Minnesotans, and pit bulls are just another breed of dog, not something to fear, ban, or kill."
Deserved or not, the breed during the past two decades has come under increased scrutiny as reports keep coming of pit bulls attacking children, adults, postal workers, police officers, other animals and each other.
Insurance companies routinely charge homeowners an added premium to their policies if pit bulls live on the premises. A number of states and cities allow pit bulls to be banned or restricted. Among them are Maryland, Texas and Florida; Toledo, Ohio, and Council Bluffs, Iowa.