Takoma Park Considers Ban After Pit Bull Attack on Teen

"What if the guy says it isn't a pit bull but a mixed-breed terrier? How do you tell?" Bartlett asked. "The county isn't doing that. Takoma Park would have to enforce that on their own."

The Prince George's ban prohibits anyone from keeping an American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier or American pit bull terrier -- the breeds commonly known as pit bulls -- or any dog that is "predominantly" one of those breeds, according to Rodney Taylor, chief of the county's Animal Management Division.

It is up to his agency to judge whether a mixed-breed dog includes sufficient characteristics of one of the prohibited breeds to fall under the ban, Taylor said. Invariably, owners plead that their dog is not one of the bad ones.

"They say, 'He's never bitten anyone; he's not aggressive,' " Taylor said. "We have to tell them that it's not determined by the dog's behavior. Enforcement is determined strictly by the breed. It's very difficult. You hate to take anyone's pet away from them."

Pit bull owners are outraged by such bans and by what they see as the unfair rap against a breed that they say is no more dangerous than any other.

"The media have demonized this breed of dog," said Maureen Hill-Hauch, executive director of the American Dog Owners Association, which worked unsuccessfully to overturn the Prince George's ban.

"All breeds bite, but if it's a pit bull, they say, 'Let's ban them.' The American pit bull terrier is probably the most loyal breed of dogs you will ever find. I have four of them."

According to neighbors, Dollar seemed to be a well-cared-for family pet. It lived at the home of Fuentes's parents on Larch Avenue, a few houses away from attack site. When informed of the attack by Flaherty, the neighbor who came to Danny's aid, they were distraught.

"He was in shock," Flaherty said of Fuentes's father. "They were responsible dog owners. This was the only time I ever saw the dog loose."

Flaherty called the proposed ban "an extreme overreaction."

"I think this was an isolated incident, incredibly unfortunate and a terrible experience for this young man," he said. "But based on one incident, you don't ban a breed."

Danny is ambivalent about an outright prohibition on pit bulls.

"I don't really want to ban them," Danny said. "But I don't want to be around them."