Pit bulls need to be confined

Burt Constable's Dec. 10 column uses the term "lovable pit bull." An oxymoron, indeed.

The old saying, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," is appropriate here. Perhaps a pit bull can be lovable for its owners, but for everyone else, look out.

Case in point: I recently was walking a neighbor's dog, a female golden retriever, which loves everyone, including other dogs, when she was maliciously attacked by a pit bull, also a female. I was innocently walking the golden on a leash in front of the house where the pit bull lives when the pit bull charged down its driveway like a wild monster and got the golden down, going for its neck. The owner ran to the scene and tugged, and tugged and tugged at the pit bull, trying to pull it off. After what seemed like an eternity, the pit bull was finally pulled off.

The golden was taken to a vet, who sewed up a wound behind the dog's ear. The vet's bill came to $200. The golden's owners presented the bill to the pit bull's owners, who graciously and apologetically wrote out a check for that amount, saying the dog had been leashed, but that its collar had broke.

"Lovable pit bull?" Perhaps in the owners' eyes, but not in this dog walker's eyes. A pit bull is a dangerous weapon that in the interest of public safety needs to be kept confined at all times.

Joe Schrantz

Villa Park