Recently, there was a report in one of the dailies, of three men who encounterd  a pit bull during the course of their work in  South Ruimveldt. All three fled in different directions, with one of them damaging a car door in the process. Prior to that, there was another incident on the Corentyne, in which a 10-year- old schoolgirl was mauled by one of these brutes that cleared the fence of the yard where it was being kept. So serious were her injuries that she had to be hospitalised, rendering her unable to write the Secondary Schools Entrance Exams (SSEE). Then there was the GT&T employee, attacked by another of these frightening animals in April. All of the above are related to 2013, so far.
In 2007, a miner, a South Ruimveldt resident, had one of his arms almost shredded by a near fatal, early-morning attack by a pit bull.
Continuing, a guard was torn to death in an early-morning horrific attack in the Ogle locale in 2008. Another citizen, a female, also suffered injuries in the same horror.  Also in 2008, there was another attack in the Queenstown ward, in which a destitute was fortunate to have escaped with his life, although almost scalped. 
All of these attacks were perpetrated by what, according to popular view, is regarded as the status dog – the pit bull.
Apart from three of these  cases, commencing with the Ogle attack, that resulted in the dogs’ owner being  charged and placed before the court on the charge of manslaughter; the one at Corentyne, involving the schoolgirl, for which the owner was also arraigned; and the  one in Kingston, that culminated in a $10,000 fine, it is not known whether similar action had been taken in the other instances. This is apart from a follow-up report in the media in which the South Ruimveldt victim had complained of his inability to use his badly damaged arm.
It is interesting to note, that although it was proven in the case of the Ogle attack, the dogs were unsecured, and that they dug their way out beneath a fenced enclosure – the owner was found not guilty!
The victim of the Queenstown attack, according to the last information he gave to the media, had not received any monetary compensation he claimed had been promised by the dog’s owner .
The reality of these attacks is that there seems not to be adequate laws on the statute books for prosecuting owners of animals that attack persons. This will include, of course, attacks by dogs. This is very much surprising, given the fact that these attacks have been occurring, so far resulting in one death. And the other victims although fortunate to have escaped a similar fate, suffered near fatal injuries.
In the case of the acquittal of the accused  in the Ogle attack, one is still unsure as to how such a decision of that nature could have been given, taking into consideration the question of ownership and liability. Someone had to be responsible for that hapless guard’s death. If not the owner, then whom should it be?
Offers of compensation usually follow these attacks, no doubt to prevent the involvement of the law. But how many of these are actually honoured?
Let us understand clearly, that the pit bull is not one’s friendly poodle that one takes for a nice afternoon stroll in the park. This canine is a naturally vicious specie that attacks without the least provocation. It is a natural killer, which will tear its victim apart, given the opportunity. In fact, in 2000, this dog was listed as the number one perpetrator of canine attacks, followed by the Rottweiler.Although there has been a solitary fatality in Guyana thus far, the viciousness  of its attacks carried out on the other victims with their respective injuries, are enough examples for the relevant authorities to have already considered  the drafting of legal procedures to apply for prosecutorial purposes.
Apart from the local incidents of pit bull attacks, there have been several from other countries that have been reported in the national press. Not so long ago, in California, a woman suffered death from the murderous jaws of this much feared animal. In the process, she reportedly had 200 punctured wounds inflicted on her! The owner of the killer dog has since been charged with murder.
The troubling aspect of the pit bull breed and its presence among the local canine population, is that their numbers are multiplying. They are being bred and sold to buyers at astronomical prices, for reasons ranging for security, and even dog- fighting. Any citizen can relate that when this particular dog is being exercised on the streets, all other canines usually hurry out of its intimidating pathway.  Even humans cross to the other side of the street, to stay clear of these monsters. Of course, there will be those who disagree with this description, often presenting a picture of an otherwise amiable dog, which instincts are often altered for vicious purposes. Such a view is highly questionable, and one may cite the example of Britain, where this dog, bred as a household pet in many instances, attacked many of its unsuspecting owners. There was the sad case of the young British girl who was savaged to death by her pit bull. It was this particular attack, and the general frequency of others that occasioned the Dangerous Dogs Act. Among the measures, was that requiring owners to muzzle their dogs when they are in public areas.
In some jurisdictions that have legislated laws to deal with dangerous dogs, there have been bans on rearing these types, with heavy penalties for infringement of the law.
There is callousness on the part of owners of this dangerous dog that borders on the unconscionable realisation as to its brutal and vicious capacity for human destruction.  It is the common view of these owners that they as owners ought to be penalised, rather than their dog being made to suffer the penalty of being put down, after having ripped  up a  human being. Is it practical, even possible, to still retain such a canine, after it would have attacked, and even killed its victim? Would not such an animal become a grave risk even to these unconcerned persons?   
It is time that very stringent legislation be brought into existence to deal with the deadly menace of attacks by dangerous dogs, a la pit bull, since based on the admission of a law enforcement official, there is uncertainty as to how to proceed in the  current event.  Particular attention should be paid to ownership, negligence, and liability, considering the often horrifying, maiming injuries that victims are made to carry for the rest of their lives, coupled with the attendant psychological scars.