By Tony Solesky
2:55 p.m. EST, November 14, 2013
I fully support liberating any animal from abuse. It does not follow however, that rescued animals — pit bulls in particular — should be pushed as companion pets by shelters and rescue organizations.
Terry Douglass of Baltimore became the 25th dog bite related fatality nationally this year when she was mauled to death by her own pit bull on Nov. 1. In the days since her passing there have been three more of these gruesome deaths, according to DogBites.org. Nearly all of the 28 people killed by dogs — 15 of them children ranging in ages from 14 months to 7 years — were killed by pit bulls.
My wife Irene and I have spent the last six years of our lives advocating for dog bite and mauling victims. In 2007, our then 10-year-old son, Dominic, and his 9-year-old playmate, Scotty, were mauled by a neighbor’s pit bull in an alley behind our Towson home. Dominic was critically wounded, suffering a femoral artery tear when he and two other children attempted to assist Scotty…