It is always hard to tell from an article what might have actually happened. Either way the owner is (should be) responsible since if anyone on the scene should have been aware of the animals anxiety/stress levels it would be the owner.

That being said there is a right way to introduce yourself to a strange dog and oh so many people get it wrong. I have been amazed at how many people want to run over and say hi to my german shepherd. Talk about asking for it. Female shepherds are great dogs but they are very defensive of the pack. Even more amazing is the hurt looks I get when I pull my dog away from them and make them slow down and do things correctly (assuming they haven't pushed me or the dog too far with their well meant lunacy).

That leads to my last point - Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity (Hanlon's razor). I can easily believe that the parents didn't even think about the ramifications - just continued on as planned.

Oh and to address the original question - I grew up wrestling with large dogs (labs, shepherds, misc. mutts) and have broken up some dog fights the hard way, so maybe- pit bulls have more jaw strength than sense.

- Eric