Why people in New Jersey have dangerous dogs (Opinion)

We were all horrified by the story last week of a 3-year-old toddler mauled and killed by two family dogs in their own backyard in Elizabeth. Nothing could be more horrific or sadder. Our hearts go out to the family.

We often wonder why people have such dangerous dogs, usually in urban areas. There's no excuse for having an out-of-control animal in the same household as a young child. People should be more careful with how they raise animals and with keeping an eye on a small child who could fall out of a window and be attacked by the dogs.

The city now wants the dogs put to death, and you may agree with that. Nothing will bring back this precious child but maybe that would prevent another senseless tragedy. There are many questions to be answered here, but one that might get lost in this horrible circumstance is why do people have these dangerous dogs? Could it be that if you live in one of our urban areas of New Jersey, a vicious or scary dog is your only way to protect yourself?

You can't carry a gun, but you can walk a scary dog to your destination. You can apply for a permit to purchase a gun, but the restrictions on what you can do with that firearm are so prohibitive that many people don't find it worth the trouble. It may not be the only reason people have vicious dogs, and people should certainly take better care in raising and keeping them.

So many other states allow people the right to bear arms to protect yourself. New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country at a time when violent crime is rising and the police are under more pressure to do less in the way of serving and PROTECTING, it stands to reason that people might choose the option of a dangerous dog for security.

There is no excuse for what happened to this precious child, but there is also no excuse for what we've let this state do to our right to protect ourselves. Just sayin...

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis Malloy's own.