Court: Pit Bulls are a liability

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Are Pit Bulls "inherently dangerous?" According to a recent high court ruling in Maryland, the answer is yes.

Animal rights groups warn that the decision could create big problems for dog owners not only in Maryland, but all over the country.

In West Haven a little girl is mauled to death by two Pit Bulls; it's just one of many headlines you see every year about the dangers of the breed. Now, this week, the Maryland Supreme Court has ruled that the dogs are inherently dangerous and that pure breed Pit Bulls are a liability.

"Now the high court in Maryland says Pit Bulls are dangerous," said News 8's Bob Wilson.

"Right and I would like to say I work at an animal hospital and I would say that some of the nicest patients we have are Pit Bulls," one woman said. "It's all about how they are raised and who they are raised by, their history, not just their breed."

Even if the blame lies with a few bad owners who breed the dogs to fight, insurance companies say the statistics back it up. There is actually a list of dogs from Rottweilers to Pit Bulls that some insurance companies will avoid. So how do you get homeowners insurance if you have one of these dogs?

News 8 did some digging and Hallie Wong of the Peter Bakker Insurance Company says if you work with an independent agent they will have to find you a policy.

"If the insurance company gives us, the agent, the opportunity to go meet the dog, and if we approve them then maybe we get a chance to insure the home for them," said Wong.

Lila, a four-year-old mix, half Rottweiler and half German Shepherd, and while the Rottweiler is on the insurance list, pet owners say there is a way around it, especially since they think it is not right to discriminate against the dog.

"How do you go about getting insurance when you have a Rottweiler and a German Shepherd mix," asked News 8's Bob Wilson.

"You have to say pick one and go with the mix," another woman said. "I know a lot of people who have Pit Bull mixes, Pit Bull/Beagle, Pit Bull whatever, and they will say it's a mix."