Boy Killed by Pit Bull

Re “Mauling Death of Boy by Dog Spurs Warning,” March 2: Another death by an animal that should not have been in a home to begin with. People blame the animal for something that could have been avoided if the parents had only used good sense.

We buy dogs for pets, protectors and just because it seems like the thing to do. And what happens--an over-bred animal is placed in a home with children, and when the dog attacks, we feel it necessary to kill the animal.

Animals just do not attack because they feel like it. They do it because they are threatened. If the parents buy a dog with a history of violence, then the parents should be held responsible for the child’s death and spare the dog’s life by allowing the dog to live out its life in a shelter at their expense.

MIKE McFATRIDGE, South Pasadena

*

How many more children have to be killed or maimed by this breed of dog before a law is enacted making it illegal to own one?

Of course, I suppose we already know the answer, since the same question is applicable to handguns.

DONALD R. McEACHREN, Santa Monica