I truly dislike breed specific laws.  I don't believe that the law can determine which dog of any breed is more likely to be inheritantly dangerous.  I'm also not sold that there is any hard evidence that shows that where BSL has been implemented, that it has actually produced the intended effect.                                              

Many policies created by BSL have been randomly or illogically developed, and are often inconsistently enforced.  For example, though the "Pit Bull" has been a primary focus of BSL, there is no consensus on what a "Pit Bull" actually is.  The term of "Pit Bull Type Dog" is now frequently used to describe over ten very different breeds, including Bulldogs, Boxers, Chows and Bullmastiffs.  It's not just the dogs that look more closely like a "pitbull".  One of my fears with BSL is that other breeds and mixed breeds will be mistaken for pit bulls by some individuals.  Additionally there are breeds of dogs that have an equal propensity for dog attacks and yet may be missed in a BSL targeting "Pit Bull Type Dogs".   Then there is the problem of mixed breed dogs, since it is often impossible to determine conclusively what their breed mix is.  How many times do we see ads for dogs in the shelters that are labeled "Lab mix" and yet have no "Lab" in them?  It's also my opinion and years of experience that any dog can be dangerous in the right situation.  I've seen it with many different breeds of dogs.  Owners play a huge part in this as well.  You are far less likely to be attacked by the dog of a good owner who takes proper care of and properly trains and contains their dog. 

My answer was always that there should be an alternative to BSL.  Starting with the strict enforcement of current dog laws.  For example, Cedar Rapids has an ordinance that requires a veterinarian who treats a dog injured by another dog report the incident to animal control.  And yet, I can give you a specific instance in which this was not done when three pits attacked and killed the fourth dog in the household.  That all being said...

Isn't it funny how a personal experience can so change our thought process?  Last week I took a frantic call from my neighbor.  Her dogs had gotten into a terrible fight and she needed help.  This wasn't a huge surprise to me.  The dogs, 3 pitts and a husky mix, had been dancing around each other with minor incidents for months, including a pretty nasty fight about a month prior.  I warned her then that she was sitting on a ticking time bomb and should be looking for a home for one or two of them, or at the very least altering (yep, they are all intact, 3 males, 1 female) them and keeping them separated.  My advice fell on deaf ears.

I walked into the house and the husky mix was dead on the floor.  Ripped apart, blood everywhere on the carpet, the walls, the drapes.  His front legs had been broken.  The year old Pit puppy was on the kitchen floor with puncture wounds and couldn't get up.  They rushed him to the emergency vet, and he pulled thru.  I could have kicked the vet who told my neighbor that it would be okay as long as she altered at least two of the dogs and that in all likelihood they wouldn't fight again.  Yea right and I'll sprout wings and fly away to never never land...

It was one of the most horrific, no make it the most horrific thing I have ever seen.  And I live next door to it.  Oh did I mention that the pits have been getting OUT of their fence?  So now I stand outside with my dogs as they potty and play just in case the dogs next door are let outside.  I can rush mine back into the house.  It's a chance I won't take. 

I love dogs, love them all, haven't met but a handful in a lifetime that I truly disliked.  But the wall is up around my heart now, as tall as the privacy fence that goes in this spring.  Maybe BSL is the way to go after all...