Guest column by Dee Amberg, vice president, Human Society of Freeborn County

We have all been overrun with news reports of pit bulls biting children to adults. We have also been overrun with news stations and our own local newspaper suggesting we ban the breed from the city limits. Easy now, before you join the &8220;witch hunt&8221; and fan the flames of mass hysteria, let&8217;s take a look at the dog, and, at what won&8217;t work and what will.

Pit bull, not a breed at all, but a term used to describe several breeds, such as the Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and a lot of &8220;look-alikes&8221; due to crossbreeding with each other and other breeds. The term &8220;Pit Bull&8221; is now used to describe any dog that physically resembles the above breeds.

Some characteristics of the American Pit Bull: Friendly, loves children and people, intelligent, easy to train, high energy, strong, the American Pit Bull Terrier continues to score high marks in the American Temperament Test. The American Pit Bull Terrier has also been useful as a therapy dog, trained in search and rescue and also used in drug and explosives detection.

Here are some reasons breed bans don&8217;t work:

1. Breed bans do not decrease the appeal of owning dogs with a popular reputation and media portrayal as aggressive.

2. People will seek out this type of dog for protection, dog fighting, some for fostering a macho image, some simply for money they can make by breeding puppies they can sell to people with any of these motives.

3. People with these motives will simply shift their attention to another breed of dog that they can raise to be highly aggressive and bite hard enough to cause injury.

4. There is also a lack of scientific evidence of any physiological traits making &8220;pit bulls&8221; more dangerous than other dogs.

5. There is also a great deal of difficulty differentiating between genetic tendencies toward aggression and the kind of aggression caused by careless and inhumane owner practices.

6. Breed bans undermine the human/dog bond, they do not promote community safety. Breed bans are bad for dogs and the people who love them.

Fact: All dogs bite, not just certain breeds.

Fact: In over 90 percent of all fatal dog attacks reported in 2005, one or more of these three critical factors were involved.

1. Dogs not used as companion animals or made members of the family, but used as guard dogs, fighting dogs or for breeding purposes only.

2. Owners chaining their dogs continually, dogs allowed to roam loose, abuse, neglect, dogs with a history of aggression not being properly managed, and allowing small children to be unsupervised with unfamiliar dogs.

3. Dogs that have not been spayed or neutered.

Things that work:

1. Make your dog part of the family, don&8217;t leave it tied to a tree all day or locked in a kennel.

2. Spay and neuter, spay and neuter, spay and neuter, and for those of you who still don&8217;t get it spay and neuter!!!!

3. Supervise your children when they are around all dogs, and teach them at a young age that Fido is a living, breathing, wonderful creature that is a gift not a toy to be discarded when they grow tired of them.

4. Educate not only yourself but also others on the proper care of all dogs.

5. Get involved, know who has the dogs in your neighborhood, watch how they are cared for.

6. Demand that law enforcement, judges, and attorneys investigate and prosecute animal abusers to the fullest extent of the law. We have good laws on the books they just need to be enforced.

7. Get Fido out of the truck bed and inside the cab with you.

8. Get involved, change the teathering laws in your community.

9. Report all suspected neglect and abuse of dogs.

Dogs deserve to run, play, sleep at your feet, get hugs and kisses, lick your face, and be part of your family. They do not deserve to be chained, caged, hit, forced to fight, and breed rapidly.

Most of all, dogs do not deserve to be feared and banned.

Let&8217;s work to hold the owner accountable, and ban the bad behavior of the owner, not the dog.