Heartbreaking. Prejudice in any form is absolutely unacceptable and unnecessary. When will people learn?!

Maybe we'll see Lennox again. When I was a kid, a priest told me that animals don't have souls, so my dog wouldn't be going to heaven. He may have been right on the facts -- I didn't remain a member of the church long enough to find out -- but he was no expert on talking to little kids. I figured it wouldn't be heaven if my dog wasn't there. Today, a member of my extended family has a grown pit bull who has the sweetest, most enthusiastic, puppy-like temperament you've ever seen. In my immediate household, we have the famous 65-pound talking Labrador retriever, Autumn, who only speaks when no one else is around and who told me this is, "wrong, wrong, wrong." It's tragic about Lennox but at least some of us know that prejudice based on breed is ignorant and that dogs are the best pals and family members we can have. Let's hope your words of wisdom will help.

I’m a loyal fan of your column, Unleashed!, but I have to disagree with your column today. And I have personal experience in this regard, as my grown step-son was attacked by his own, recently-adopted, part-pitbull. He was assured when he adopted the dog that it was a wonderfully good-natured dog, the best the shelter had ever had. Four days later, as my step-son sat on the sofa watching TV with the dog at his feet, the dog leapt up and attacked his face and neck. He tore off my step-son’s nose and half the skin of his face, he cut one of the salivary glands, and barely missed his eye. Thankfully, my stepson was a strong young man, tall and athletic. He was able to wrestle the dog off of him and call 911. Five hours of plastic reconstructive surgery followed, and thank goodness, my stepson is fine today. There was no warning in the dog’s nature. It did not matter to my stepson's attack whether it was a genetic/breed proclivity or whether it was through bad upbringing that the dog attacked him. Certain breeds of dogs which you mentioned, primarily pitbulls, do occasionally attack humans, and occasionally kill humans, too. You do not hear of Shelties, Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retrievers and the like attacking humans. It is not a matter of discrimination, but a matter of human well-being versus canine well-being. And that is not a question at all.

To Robin Baxter: Your story is horrible, however the mentality going forward is what us anti-BSL folks are fighting. You have just lumped all pit-type dogs into a category based on one incident that hits you close to home. That is completely unfair and wrong. If a human attacks your family member, do you hate all people and outlaw every single one too? PUNISH THE DEED, NOT THE WHOLE BREED!

To Robin Baxter: You heard it hear first here: I, and my pitbull-type dog, were attacked by a Golden Retriever one day during a leisurely wallk through our community. My dog was leashed, by my side, and the Golden Retriever came charging out of its house (unsecure front door), down its yard, across a street, onto the sidewalk we were walking and ran the additional 15 feet at which time it leaped on my pitbull-type dog and grabbed her by the throat and began to shake her and then bit me on the wrist. I am sorry about the misfortune of your step son, however, you are severley uninformed on dog behavior and to be so misguided as to believe that only a pitbull-type dog will have the proclivity to get you bit will mark you as the next victim of an attack by the unsuspecting golden retriever that you have chosen to close your eyes in ignorance to and believe it can't and doesn't possess the ability to bite.

I would like to say that my entire life I have been around pit bulls and various other breeds of dogs but especially pits. when I was 5 years old my dad got me a golden retreiver. A few weeks after we got him I went outside began to pet him, he lunged at me and literally ripped my face apart. Thankfully I am fine now but since then I have had only pit bulls and 1 chihuahua. currently I have 4 pittys and wouldnt have it any other way. Yes there are bad dogs in every breed just like bad people in every race. With so much hate and violence in the world we are teaching the next generations discrimination racism and hate. Animals only know what they are taught just like a young child. Lets stop teaching hate and practice more love and acceptance. Remember whether two legs or four we all come from GOD.

I was once bitten by a small black mixed breed dog with a long narrow snout. Should all small black mixed breeds be banned? Give me a break!

As broken as my heart is to read of the cruel fate that befell Lennox, once again humans are to blame, NOT THE BREED! The blame is two-fold. The Barnes family would not have had to endure the murder of their beloved family pet if they had obeyed the law of the land, as stupid, short sighted and ignorant as it is. Too many people have the attitude that they "won't get caught" or "it applies to everyone else but me". Second there are no "bad breeds" there are only BAD OWNERS. The bad owners give certain breeds a bad reputation. Ignorance then slaps a label on an entire breed. As a child I was bitten by an Irish Setter, should we ban them too? As Lynkers said above, 'punish the deed, not the whole breed'.

I wanted to personally thank all of our readers who weighed-in on this serious issue. And another case, this time in Montreal, Canada, just hit the media as well. I understand Robin Baxter's fear considering that incident, however, it does NOT warrant fear and profiling and banning and executing dogs just because of their breed. There once was a man named "Hitler" who hated a certain race of people. Fear, lack of empathy and tolerance, mixed with ignorance never wrought anything good or worthwhile. My high-strung Jack Russell Flip (who quite honestly is just as likely to bite someone as any dog) was attacked and badly bitten at the Herndon Dog Park years ago and required stitches. There were quite a few Pit Bull Terriers that frequented the park, however it was a Yellow Lab that attacked Flip. Her name was Rosie (I'll never forget, it was a horrifying experience for both Flip and I) and it turns out she had behavioral issues, and her owner was hoping that bringing her to the dog park would help socialize her. That was a serious error in judgement by the owner. It was not the fault of the dog, who was in need of intensive training. I do not fear nor hate Yellow Labs (I don't think Flip does either). Thanks again for all the readers' input on this issue.