By Terry Ahner

tahner@tnonine.comBased on their actions, pit bulls can be a true menace to society.For those who may believe otherwise, let's cut through the red tape and face the facts.By its very definition, a menace to society is something that possesses a danger, threat, or harm to society.Pit bulls certainly fit into that category, as evidenced by several stories that have recently been reported in our publication.Several weeks ago, two girls from Tamaqua were bitten by pit bulls as part of two separate incidents.The cases, which were reported in our May 1 edition, included a 17-year-old girl who was bitten by a pit bull found to be running loose, and a nine-year old girl who was bitten in the face by a family pet.Three weeks earlier, two young girls from Palmerton were injured by a pit bull on their way home from school.The girls, ages 10 and 8, were walking when the pit bull attacked them, as reported in our April 9 edition.The 10-year-old sustained dog bite wounds to her face and ear, as well as several deep bleeding punctures behind her right knee. The eight-year-old was bitten in her forearm, causing her to fall to the ground and scrape her one knee, and also suffered several deep bleeding punctures in the area behind her one knee.Whether provoked, or unprovoked, the fact of the matter remains that pit bulls were the common denominator in each of those attacks.Further more, none of those girls deserved to be on the receiving end of such vicious attacks, and were fortunate they were able to survive the assault.Regardless of if they're kept indoors or outdoors, all it takes is one false move for these dangerous animals to get loose and wreak havoc.Quite frankly, when is it going to sink in?For those of you who may recall, I wrote a column on this very same topic nearly two years to the day of this piece.That was most definitely not by design, as I would much rather pen a column on the litany of positive developments in our area, of which there are an innumerable amount worthy of recognition.In my prior column, I suggested that the owners of dangerous dogs that attack need to be heavily fined.Especially those dog owners who allow their dogs to run loose that aren't licensed or leashed.I stick by what I said then: If you choose to own a dog, it is your responsibility to care for it.That means being sure it's on a leash, cleaning up after it, and being absolutely certain it will not cause harm to those it comes into contact with.Once again, it comes back to the accountability factor.Besides, we as human beings, should not have to worry about being the victims of a dog attack, plain and simple.In my earnest opinion, pit bulls represent a true danger, and do not belong among society.Of course, there are those who will either agree, or disagree, with that opinion. That's their prerogative.I'm 100-percent certain of my belief, and it is one that will never waver.The facts bear it out.