A 64 year old woman adopted a pit bull. Two weeks later in her back yard it turned on her and mauled her to death. A relative heard her screams and came running. He managed to separate them and got the animal tied to a fence to keep it at bay as she was bleeding out. He called 911 but by the time police got there she had already died. Police called her injuries "significant." The dog was still barking and lunging and was eventually euthanized.

This happened in Maryland. Here in New Jersey we've had our share of pit bull attacks. A 5 year old girl nearly lost her leg in an attack in Jersey City. A man suffered a pit bull bite to his groin and lost a tremendous amount of blood and had to be hospitalized. In Neptune, 4 children were sent to the hospital in another pit bull attack. These were all last year, and these were only some. In that same year, 39 dog bite fatalities occurred in the United States. pit bulls made up 74% of that number yet account for only 6.5% of the total U.S. dog population. There are certainly dogs that bite more often. But pit bulls kill the most and do the most damage.

Which all got me wondering about the people who are drawn to this breed. I began researching something that on the surface might sound peculiar. I wondered what owners name them. Those who own pit bulls often talk about the intelligence and loyalty of the breed and tend to downplay any desire to own a tough, badass dog. Would the names reflect that? Would the common names be Einstein and Freud?

According to Puppytoob.com, these are the top 20 most common names given to male pit bulls in 2017.

1. Ace
2. Avenger
3. Bear
4. Beijing
5. Caesar
6. Capone
7. Cajon
8. Danger
9. Denali
10. Fletch
11. Gunner
12. Gus
13. Pablo
14. Quinn
15. Rambo
16. Rio
17. Samson
18. Thor
19. Viper
20. Warrior

If that doesn't tell you many Pitbull owners are drawn to this breed for its aggressive reputation then there's no convincing you.

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