after working at a vet and with animals for 5 years, I've found that smaller dogs are inherently nastier than big dogs. I own a pitbull and yet she gets a bad rap because of that. you'd think that her tail/entire hindquarters wagging so fast would make you think otherwise..

Brooke how is your dog? Has he made a complete recovery?

I'm late to this story, but I hope Walden is all right. I live in the NE, but had a similar situation with my 14 yr old greyhound about 2 years ago. My Dad (nearly 80 at the time) had her out for a walk and they were attacked by the neighbor's pit bull. My dog was only nicked, b/c Dad threw himself between her and the pit bull. His left arm and leg were covered with bites and scratches. If he hadn't kicked the dog hard, who knows what would have happened; she was crazed. He required stitches, and my greyhound was so traumatized that she never left the yard again. The experience definitely hastened her demise from the cancer she had too (icing on the cake, so to speak).

The pit bull's owner was "sorry" and offered to pay medical bills. However, her excuse was that the dog was stronger than her and she couldn't hold its collar. The police came and took a report and I also reported it to animal control. However, since this was (supposedly) the dog's first bite, there was nothing I could do to get rid of it. I could have sued, but I didn't want her money. Money wouldn't fix the problem.

Meanwhile, I prayed that no child or defenseless person/animal would get maimed or killed by this monster.

That didn't work. A year later, the pit got out again, bit the dog next door, and then followed it into its house (the owners opened the door to save their dog) to inflict more damage. About $1000 in surgery later, the dog's physically okay; he was young. The owners, obviously, filed complaints/called the police. But the kicker is that the city can't find any evidence of my earlier complaint -- and they don't want to hear anything about it. It's as if the attack never happened. So, the pit bull is still at one bite and lives on to terrorize the street. Apparently, it's more important to keep an evil dog alive than anything else.

Sorry for the length of this post. Clearly this is an emotional issue for me. Again, I hope Walden (and you and Feyd) have come through this as well as you can.

My big pit mix played happily with a shitzhu 1/4 his size and is buddies with my 4 month old kitten.

I have never seen him act aggresively even when other dogs have been growly towards him. He is a bit over-vigilant as a watchdog though.

Still I watch him carefully as he is still young and super energetic and ALWAYS wants to play with everything/everybody. I do not let him off leash in the neigborhood ever (if I saw a dog like him running at me I would shoot him before I found out if he was friendly or not). I do not even leave him in my gated yard unmonitored because I am afraid that someone might let him out. I also will continue to monitor him for any signs of dog aggression that may appear.

I worry when I walk him because there are so many loose dogs around and people who leave thier doors open. I am not sure how he would react if attacked and do not want to find out. I syptathize with Brooke on this I am always keeping my eyes out for open doors because you never know what is going to run out. I am afraid if he were attacked by a vicious dog it would change his happy go lucky nature.

I would like to take him to a dog park because he could really use to play with some other doggies (playing with a sometimes mean kitten can get frustrating) but I am afraid of how other people will react to such a big scary looking dog even though he is a big goofball. I am also afraid that other dogs will be agressive to him and that if another dog started a fight he would finish it as he is a big strong guy.

Brooke I hope your boy is making a good recovery.

Dog owners of any breed should be responsible. Dog owners of large strong dogs that can cause real injury should be extra vigilant.