Was it not enough that we broke Dogster? (Get well soon, SFist Ted! We need you to cover the upcoming heat wave!) We've got even more bad dog news to report.
Local animal shelters and pet rescue groups are asking Craigslist not to post ads for dogs and cats for sale, claiming that the website makes for easy access to a marketplace for the dreaded "backyard breeder," making a quick buck by selling inbred and ill-socialized pit bulls. The East Bay SPCA found in one month 183 listings for unneutered pit bull puppies, some as "human-aggressive."
And the dog-loving number-crunchers have finished their reports, and found that pit bulls account for 27% of all known dog attacks since 2003, even though they constitute only 6% of the licensed dog population. The statisticians warn that it could be that people are likely to report pit bull attacks and less likely to register pit bulls, but still. Out of 900+ bites since 2003, 626 were traced to a specific dog. Of that 626, 169 were traced to pits. That was more than the next three species combined (German shepherds with 69, labs with 58, and rottweilers with 34). A man also tells a harrowing tale of being attacked by a pit bull in the DVD section of the SoMisPo Best Buy. Uh, who brings a pit bull to Best Buy? Were they checking out TiVos?