Article: Vicious Dogs Put Bite Into Street Crime; Robbers Use Pit Bulls, Rottweilers as Weapons

Dogs such as Rottweilers and pit bulls, often mistreated to encourage aggressive behavior, are becoming a weapon of choice for robbers as well as youths seeking to establish neighborhood reputations as macho men.

Although statistics are inconclusive, police and animal control officials can recount incident after incident -- in the District and around the Washington area -- in which dogs have been used instead of guns or knives to intimidate victims.

Nine days ago, a 32-year-old man was attacked by a dog and robbed in Capitol Heights outside a restaurant after two men with a pit bull walked up to him and demanded cash. He surrendered his money, but the dog attacked him anyway. Prince George's ...

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