I definitely think there is a difference between being anti-pit (or anti- any breed) and feeling more wary around them. Anti-pit people want them banned or extinct. I doubt anyone here, at least I would hope, wants that. It is another thing to be nervous or uneasy around a dog, or any creature, because of what it is capable of.

For example, plenty of people prefer small dogs because if something goes wrong, a small dog can do far less damage than a large dog. There are people afraid of a mastiff or great dane because if it nips, the potential for damage is MUCH greater than a smaller dog (As PT's Anna knows!). Now, if I were walking my dogs and saw a bully breed running up, I WOULD be on guard more than if it were a cocker spaniel or chihuahua. Why? Because if a fight breaks out, EVEN if it is MY dogs who start it, it is mostly likely going to be a very serious and possibly deadly fight, because bully breeds withstand pain well and do not tend to back down once a fight breaks out.

Bully breeds in general tend to have a much more physical type of play, I know even my friend Vela talks about how her boxers play very physically. I had a boxer at the dog park really overwhelm Raven with his play when she was younger and she was really panicked, but this boxer was just doing his normal bully type of play.

It's very possible in this situation that Rosie was overwhelmed by this pup and that at some point, Anna was likely to really lay into the new pup. I would have been nervous too in that situation. If at some point Anna had had enough and attacked the pup and she fought back, who knows what the outcome might have been.

That said, I feel that pits are not in the news because they are more unstable and have more baggage, but because when things do go wrong, due to their power and gameness, the outcomes are much more grim and thus make the news. I type ER reports for hours on end with my job and get many, many dog bite reports of all breeds, large and small and mixed. Some breeds of dogs require more caution and knowledge and crucial socialization and training, and it's best an owner be fully prepared and committed to do this.