Question about pitbulls and animal control?

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There's a pitbull mix that chases people in my neighborhood. This is the second time he's gotten loose-that I know of. My neighbor called animal control. What will they do to it? Will they kill it? What if the owner comes and claims it will they let them have it back? I don't know if he bites. He's never bitten me just chases if I move so I usually just hold still when he's near me. So I don't know if he's a threat.

There's some information missing here. Do you know if the dog is trained, or if there are any breed restrictions in your area? Pitbulls are generally great family dogs when they're trained the right way.

Is this dog loose all the time? Or does he just get out of the yard? Has he gone after anyone and injured anyone before?

I don't for sure but I think around here pitbulls-at least in shelters-have to be put down. I don't know anything about animal control so that's I'm asking this. Is he trained? He runs away when you go over to him or call him but when you walk away he chases you.... so know I don't think so. I think he just get's out of the yard. Had he injured anyone? Not that I know of.

Well.... I trained my pit mix to chase because if he ever got out, he would chase me instead of running away as part of the game.

Because most everything is a game to dogs.

Okay, personally, I would call my neighbors (phone books if you don't have their numbers) and ask them what they know about the situation. If the dog is owned, & if the owner is uncooperative, you can actually call the police (do they have animal cops in your area? If so, call them) and get them to go to the owner's house & they actually HAVE to fix up their fence or whatever it is that's letting the dog out. It's a matter of public safety, no matter what the breed. Any dog can bite.

By the description the dog doesn't sound vicious. Some dogs just like to play weird little games like that. If he wanted to attack you he would have and could probably outrun you easily. I have a pit bull and the responses while in public with her vary from adoration to terror. Most people adore her since she is a very sweet and gentle dog.

I know the laws and procedures aren't the same in every state... but I worked at a humane society for a year and we got a LOT of pit bulls, many from animal control. And as far as I know (unless it's different in other states) all animal control does is bring the animals to the shelter. The shelter has a separate area for pets where they aren't up for adoption, such as ones that have escaped that need to go back to their owners.

And the way it worked at my shelter just depended on whether the employees and people in charge thought the animal was aggressive. However, if it had been reported that a dog had bitten anyone before, then (unfortunately, regardless of the situation) it would raise their chance for being put down.

It sounds like the dog in your neighborhood isn't aggressive, although that's a very vague guess. But it also depends on if this dog is comfortable around strangers, which most aren't unless VERY friendly, and is able to be handled easily by animal control. Unfortunately (in my state that is) there are some animal control officers who are quick to judge bad things, even eager, if the dog is even slightly misbehaving.

So for your question about whether they would give it back to the owner: yes, unless the dog is obviously abused by them.

Slight rant... :/ This is kind of a political issue when it comes down to it. And it's hard to answer (like the others have said) because of it being such a controversial topic plus the differences in laws from state to state. Hope I helped, anyway... And I hope the dog gets well taken care of, whatever happens to him. It sounds to me like he just needs more attention. That's one of the top reasons dogs escape repeatedly.

And on a side note, I absolutely love pit bulls. They ARE really friendly when trained correctly, and they're not all that different from any breed of dog. Did you know that years ago, they were second only to golden retrievers as nanny dogs? (: