r49 Not from the testicular cancer, almost from the puppy collar that he grew out of. It was strangling him. Heartbreaking to see.

BUT, he was always a little white trash. He earned the name Kenny (from South Park) for almost dying like 5 times from random misadventures. He liked trying to escape to run around. He found a stray girlfriend at one point, even though he was fixed, she would come around and jump the fence. I think she was eventually captured by the city, but he would try to escape to look for her. We had a taller fence installed - 8.5 feet, which only encouraged him to learn to jump higher with superdog agility. He could jump onto a low part of the roof which had to be almost 10 feet high. The skateboarding made him super buff.

He eventually escaped and we looked for him for two weeks, checked the pound etc. He was about 8 years old at that point. Some family members were sobbing. He was very endearing to everyone. Neighbors, my parents, friends.

So I have mixed feelings about pitbulls. They are similar to dalmations or whippets in that they need unrealistic amounts of exercise and attention. The are genuinely very strong. The kind of people who usually own them don't care for them, mistreat them, and don't run them. You need some property, fences, and they need some obedience training.

They are expensive. Kenny was the most expensive dog I ever owned. The food, the vet, and I had to bail him out of dog jail once, which cost $135 and was humiliating, because I like to think of myself as a conscientious dog owner. Letting a pitbull run wild isn't cool. It was stressful.

I have a whippet mutt now and it also needs crazy exercise just to be normal, and is actually a little more surly than Kenny. I have a family member with a small farm, and I have to take the dog there often to run around and herd random animals. Dog genetics dictate a lot of their behavior, along with being raised properly. I've never had a dog run away before. It was kinda traumatic, and I can imagine people seeing a buff fucking pitbull just strolling down the street and freaking out.

I would discourage most people from owning a pitbull unless they were aware of these conditions. Not a city dog at all Actually WANTING a dog that is capable of eating somebody is kind of a weird reason to want to own a dog, unless you run a junkyard in the South Side of Chicago, which is the meanest part of town.