Pit Bull Owners Defend Their Pets ? CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE?(WJZ) ? Maryland?s highest court ruled that pit bulls are inherently dangerous. That decision caused some landlords to evict dog owners and adoptions to scale off.

As Gigi Barnett reports, some pit bull owners say there?s another side of the breed that?s rarely seen.

This is how a well-behaved pit bull really acts. It?s what Maryland breed owners want the world to know? especially Maryland?s highest court, which ruled pit bulls and pit bull mixes are inherently dangerous earlier this month.

?It?s discrimination against the breed and that?s not intelligent,? said Budd Kalaga, who owns a pit bull. ?I think facts should be apparent before a decision like that is made.?

So pet owners put their pit bulls on parade. B-More Dog? a nonprofit organization? has hosted this event for the last four years at the Inner Harbor. It?s a friendly way to crush the myths about pit bulls. But this year is especially tough.

?There are thousands upon thousands of interactions people have with dogs on a daily basis and the majority of those do not end up in any sort of a?dog bite,? Pauline Houliaras, president of B-More Dog, said.

The number of pit bull attacks seem to be adding up.

?He came under the gate and bit my leg,? said a 5-year-old boy who was mauled by a pit bull last April.

In June, a pit bull mauled a 78-year-old Greek woman, nearly killing her. Back in 2007, 10-year-old Domenic?Solesky was attacked by a pit bull in front of his Towson home.

?He grabbed my leg and started shaking me around and dragged me around the alley,? Solesky explained.

It was that case that brought the matter before the state Court of Appeals. Now, the court?s ruling would make pit bull owners much more liable if their dogs lashed out.

?There are a lot of dogs that are going to end up in shelters now and a lot of families that are going to be hurt by this,? said Houliaras.?

B-More Dog said that instead of tough penalties against dog owners, what?s needed is more education for them and more training for the breed.

B-More Dog says it plans to fight the court?s ruling.

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