I love pitbulls, which is why I am dismayed after all these experiences because I'm finding myself developing a genuine fear of them. At this point I know intellectually that they're a wonderful breed of dog, but I also know that all of the ones I know around town are ones whose owners got them because they think they're tough, they encourage their antisocial behavior, and they never let them out of the yard, much less take them for a walk. There are a few on our normal walking route that are obviously guard dogs, and it's not a comfortable feeling to be walking down the street, hear them rushing at you like a freight train, and realize that all it's going to take for you AND your dog to get mauled to death is for the owner of said dogs to not securely latch the gate that the dog is about to hit. It gives me the heebies.