Every year 800,000 Americans are treated for dog bites, half of them are children, says the Centers for Disease Control. Although the CDC no longer records dog attacks by breed, Dogsbite.org states that nearly 70 percent of dog attacks that resulted in the need for medical attention, or even death, are caused by Pit bulls or Rottweilers, based on a compilation of U.S. and Canadian press reports from 1982 to 2007.
These overwhelming statistics raced through my mind as I was walking my sister and nephew to their car not too long ago, when two pit bulls ran up to the three of us. Immediately they jumped up on my sister and I as they stood on their hind legs and revealed their intimidating height. Then one of them put their two front paws on my 5-year-old nephew's shoulders. Though neither of the dogs bit us, they seemed to be trying to scratch me and knock my sister over. Soon after, my neighbors came out and after yelling for nearly five minutes,were finally able to get their dogs to come back into the house as they held down a third dog to prevent him too from running up to us.
I love dogs, and even strays don't usually bother me. But it was obvious to me that my nephew was very scared. So, after I let my neighbors have a LOUD earful of anger from me for not properly securing their dogs— this was the third time those dogs had been roaming our street after somehow escaping our neighbors' home—I went online and found some information about Ohio law concerning pit bull ownership.
"The state of Ohio declared pit bulls as "vicious" and requires owners to carry $100,000 in liability insurance, securely constrain the dog when on-property and to use a chain-link leash when off-property,"states Dogsbite.org.
Based on how irresponsible they have proved to be in the past regarding their dogs, I'm fairly sure my neighbors don't carry liability insurance, and it was crystal clear that they had failed to securely constrain their pit bulls—on or off their property. Most people don't view their dogs as vicious, so it's hard to convince people that even though their dog may not be vicious, it is still their responsibility to properly secure them.
Two days after this incident with my neighbors and their dogs took place. I was honestly thinking about whether or not I had overreacted when I loudly let my neighbors know how I felt about their lack of responsibility. Then, after hearing people yelling outside, I looked out the screen door and saw a group of people chasing a loose dog that looked very much like my neighbors' pit bull, and trying to get it to come back into the house.
As I looked at my neighbor, I was too ticked off to even say anything. I just shook my head and thought "that's a doggone shame".

The Centers for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Dog-Bites/dogbite-factsheet.html

Dogsbite.org
http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs.htm
http://www.dogsbite.org/legislating-dogs.htm

For information on how to avoid and how to treat dog bites visit these links.
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/firstaid/bites/203.html

http://www.nalc.org/depart/safety/dogbites.html

http://www.avma.org/animal_health/brochures/dog_bite/dog_bite_brochure.asp