Since Angus is pushing 16 years now, his walks have become shorter and more local. He doesn't have the stamina for the long hikes anymore. In fact, he can't get in and out of the Bronco without a lift. So, when I wanted to go for a hike in the Sandia foothills the other day, I took Hito.

Hito is my neighbor's dog. He's a strapping young man of about two years. He's boisterous, friendly and fun loving. He has a big smile that he greets you with. He scares the crap out of people when they see him coming. In fact, that fear led someone to stab the poor guy once. He is easily misunderstood. You see, Hito is a pit bull.

Pit bulls have a pretty bad rep these days. Every time one attacks someone, it is big headlines. There have been local pushes to make the breed illegal altogether. As it stands, there are laws that make pit bull owners a bit more liable for aggressive acts of dog than owners of other breeds.

It is known that in many of these cases, the dog has been taught to be mean. Many people will get a pit bull specifically for that purpose. Tie it on a short leash to a wall and beat the tar out of the poor thing until it hates everyone, that's the way to do it. Then set it loose in the yard. That'll keep those old junk cars safe.

Most people don't consider that, however. They just know that once again, one of those pits attacked a neighbor kid that he wasn't supposed to attack. It "just went wild". Many people believe that this breed is a powder keg, ready to go off at a moment's notice. "They're nice dogs, until something just switches in their heads and they go for your throat." That's what Dad told me when warning me to be wary of Hito, a dog he's never even seen. People just think that with pit bulls, there's something wrong with the animal itself..

I was thinking about this while Hito and I walked along the trails, Hito stopping to sniff everything in sight. He didn't drag on the leash at all. He didn't try to take off after anything. He didn't growl at anything, with the exception of a biker that he barked at from the back of the Bronco. I think he just likes to freak them out a little. I've seen that twisted sense of humor in other breeds, too. In fact, he was a near perfect little gentleman on our walk, better behaved than Angus usually was on walks until the age of 13 or so. As usual after dealing with Hito, I wondered about the people who think that there's "something wrong with the animal". It seems pretty clear to me that a dog raised by peaceful people grows to be peaceful.

Then I got home and checked out the news. I found this.  I remembered this. In fact, I remember a lot of news items like this from the last few years.

Then I see this.

And this.

It isn't hard to find this stuff. And every time you do, you see people trying to reason it out.

Did he have a mental illness? Was she driven to it by her husband? Was he molested as a child? Treated poorly by schoolmates? Beaten by a mean stepdad? Didn't get the draedel he wanted for Christmas?

Even when they aren't trying to justify the event, people will still be looking for some clue to its' origin. They have to find a reason for a rational being to do irrational things. After all, people don't just drown their own kids, right? Something must have made her do it. There has to be a cause for all this.

And that's when I thought "Maybe there isn't."

What if these folks just snapped? What if the switch just flipped? Perhaps there is no rhyme or reason to it all. Maybe upbringing and personal history have nothing to do with it. Maybe there is something inherently defective in the species we call "human".

Maybe there is something wrong with the animal itself.