Regarding the article about the pit bull picked up by a stranger, I am uncertain who deserves the majority of my anger about the entire sequence of events. I'm a dog owner who has taken time to understand how dogs should act around children and has trained my dog to do so.
Let's start with the owner. Your dog is not to be trusted with your own grandchildren, but you have no qualms about releasing the dogs in public? What if I'm walking in that area with my two toddlers? What nerve, to be upset how animal control handled YOUR stray unsafe dog.
Next: animal control's purpose is to protect the public from strays. A stray chihuahua represents a very different level of risk than a pit bull. The issue is not what rights a claimant nor original owner have -- the issue is that this particular dog represents the absolute worst possible case, a powerful dog with known issues with children, but animal control completely failed in its mission to protect the public. Should this dog bite someone, given the history here, I would say the county is clearly at risk of a major lawsuit.
Which leads to the genius who took in a stray pit bull, with no knowledge of its background or history. Given the false identity he provided, he likely doesn't care and this particular dog is probably already dead.