For what its worth, earlier this summer I went to visit a friend at rehab during a massive family day picnick (sp) where pets were allowed. Out of the 50 or so dogs, i'd say 45 were Pitbulls, if that gives any indication to what kind of person buys there dogs....
I think the biggest factor determining whether your pit will be a vicious animal or a friendly pet is in the hands of the owners...That said, i've seen too many friends with what we thought to be "good" pitbulls, raised better than most dogs, turn on humans in an instant and attack...Come to think of it...I've never known a friend who has has a "good" pitbull that unprovoked turns bad, and doesnt attack more than once. Everyone has had to put them down because multiple attacks, even after the best care for the dogs after the first.
So the owner does have a lot of influence over the dog, but with this breed, and not limited to others, but especially this breed, pits can naturally turn very bad, more so than a lot of other dogs....
And don't give me the "its 100% the owners fault crap". Do you also blame the parents or guardians of every criminal and drug addict in the world too?
And so its known....I have never owned a pitbull, nor would I ever own one. Like I said, I have been around them for a while with friends that have owned them, and i'm never comfortable with them. I've owned GSD's my whole life, and I understand it takes a lot of work by the owners to control big, aggressive dogs, but pits are another story to me.
Good for the people who give them a chance and rescue them from being put down...It really is too bad that the breed has had such a bad rep because of the actions of maybe 25-35% of the dogs....That said, even though the odds are highly against your pitbull ever attacking you or someone else, i'm not ever going to take that risk by allowing one in my home or on my property.