By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — Armed with a grisly catalogue of attacks on people and pets, the Police Department has launched a campaign to persuade the City Council to impose strict new regulations on pit bull terriers similar to those in effect in Pawtucket and Central Falls.

Capt. Kenneth Paulhus has compiled more than three years' worth of reports he says show an alarming trend: Pit bulls are responsible for more dog bites in the city than any other breed, often causing serious injuries that require costly medical or veterinary treatment.
Paulhus, who took over as supervisor of animal control several months ago, has compiled a spiral-bound report as thick as phone book documenting all incidents involving pit bulls since 2006.
It's a macabre inventory of maimings, dog fights, aggressive pit bulls euthanized by police gunfire and one account of an elderly woman bitten by a pill bull so badly she ended up in a nursing home.
“In 2006, the pit bulls accounted for 32 percent of all the dog bite cases in Woonsocket,” Paulhus says in the report. “The number increased to 37 percent in 2007. The year 2008 reflected half of all dog bites in the city were attributed to pit bulls. Many were serious.”
The statistics show there were 75 dog bites during the period in question, 15 of which involved humans and the rest other pets. Of the eight dog bites that occurred so far this year, three were caused by pit bulls, the report said.
Animal Control Officer Doris Kay says in the report that she used to think all dogs were created equal. But she says she's learned that, “In Woonsocket pit bulls bite more often, and cause more injury, than any other breed.”
Invariably, says Kay, virtually all of the serious injuries caused by pit bulls involve animals that are neglected by their owners. Most are neither spayed nor neutered, lack  the necessary inoculations for rabies or other animal-borne illnesses and have never been to a veterinarian.
Two incidents stood out in Kay's mind as graphic examples of the risk pit bulls pose. One involved a family pet that, for no apparent reason, locked its jaws on the neck of a small child. The child was “scarred both physically and emotionally,” Kay said. The dog was euthanized.
In another case, a pit bull killed another dog while its owner was taking it for a walk. The victim dog was “totally mauled” and “in several pieces” before the owner of the pit bull was able to regain control of the animal.
Some of these incidents took place quite some time ago, but others are much more recent, according to Paulhus. Just a few days ago, the police encountered two snarling pit bulls as they initiated a drug raid in which they seized 37 grams of crack. And less than a month ago, as Lori Harrison was walking her dog on Harrison Avenue, a neighbor's pit bull snapped its leash and viciously attacked her pet, killing it.
Even when pit bull attacks aren't fatal, the results can be quite onerous for their owners, emotionally and financially. One man who took his dog to the vet after a pit bull attack told police it cost him over $350 to mend the animal.
The Police Department wants the City Council to pass an ordinance similar to that initially adopted by Pawtucket in January 2004, and more recently by Central Falls. The measure prohibits ownership of a pit bull except for those registered with city authorities before the law went into effect. In addition, the owners of lawfully registered pit bulls must carry no less than $100,000 in liability insurance and keep their pets leashed and muzzled in public.
The law would apply only to dogs recognized as the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier — all related breeds characterized by thick, muscular necks, a barrel chest and legendarily powerful jaws. All registered animals would have to be spayed or neutered to be in compliance with the ordinance. Scofflaws would face a fine of $250 for an initial offense and $500 for a second. A third could draw a fine of $1,000 — and up to 30 days in jail.
“It would increase the safety to city residents and the police by limiting the population of pit bulls to responsible dog owners,” says Paulhus.
John Holmes, the animal control supervisor in Pawtucket, agrees. Holmes says he predicted that it would take two years for Pawtucket to experience the full benefit of the law after it was passed, but the results were actually apparent in half the time.
“It's working absolutely fantastic,” said Holmes. “We have not had a pit bull maiming in the city since December of 2004.”
Holmes says the law also capped the number of legal pit bulls in Pawtucket to about 70 animals. Holmes scoffed at the notion that there is also a sizable population of illegal pit bulls in Pawtucket, saying “I'd like to think not.” But if the police run across someone with an unregistered pit bull, Holmes said the law allows officers to confiscate and impound the animal. The owner has 10 days to remove the animal from the city.
But some animal lovers think cities like Pawtucket and Central Falls go too far with so-called “breed specific” legislation. Karen Ethier, vice president of Framingham, Mass.-based Pittie Love Rescue, says the claim that pit bulls are inherently vicious dogs is absurd.
“They're not monsters,” she says. “They're not bloodthirsty beasts. They're wonderful animals. I have four of them.”
Many pit bull advocates like Ethier argue that  laws targeting pit bulls punish the animal for the sins or their owners. Too often, they say,  pit bulls are favored by a class of young men who know little about proper animal care and choose them for the wrong reason. The rugged muscularity of the pit bull is a fitting accent for the intimidating image of the gang member and drug dealers often want them for protection. In some nefarious circles, the animals are still bred for fighting, as they were centuries ago.
“Give any dog to a punk who knows nothing about raising animals and they can turn nasty,” says Ethier.
Carmine DiCenso, director of animal welfare at the Providence Animal Rescue League, affirms Ethier's position.
“It can be a very loyal, loving breed but in the wrong hands it's a time bomb,” he says.
Holmes sympathizes with the pit bull advocates. But he says that in the real world, it is impossible to separate the breed from the socioeconomic setting in which they are often forced to live.
“Nobody likes to single out any specific breed, but you can't make all the dogs suffer because of a few idiots,” he says.