Here is insanity...or maybe stupidity. The press is full of stories of dog bite deaths: A seven year old boy in Texas, a five year old girl in London. Numerous other cases can be cited. Children are the most likely targets of these dog assaults. Dog Bite.org tracks child attacks.
Between July 2006 and May 2008, 49 deaths due to dog mauling were recorded in the US. 33 of these by a Pit Bull or Rottweiler, and several deaths did not report the dog type. Of the cases known, 67% were committed by a Pit Bull or Rottweiler. In an earlier study, Pit bull and Rottweiler dogs accounted for over half of the 238 fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998 according to a study by Sacks, Sinclair, Gilchrist, Golab and Lockwood reported in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2000.
And these dogs do not seem to need provocation, at least not provocation that can be seen: A two year old toddler was mauled while the dog's 25 year old owner gave the child a bath.
So, back to my original question: Why do people own/keep these dogs? I figure there are three possible reasons:
1. The dogs are used for illegal dog fighting.
2. The dogs accompany an owner who is a criminal (drug dealer, etc) for protection.
3. The owner has a pathetically weak ego and the possession of such a dog makes the owner feel 'tough,' 'powerful,' 'cool,' and/or some sort of 'bad ass.'