It was the first time I'd taken him out on my own and the bogan, d!ckhead owner left me cradling my bleeding dog and just walked off.
I'm so sorry this happened to you and it really says it all - bad owner.
I've not had a lot of contact with proper Staffies except years a go a colleague from work showed hers in conformation - he was an American Staffordshire and a big love.
My Mama Jodhi was of course a pit bull probably mixed with Australian Cattle Dog (aka Kelpie) and along with Duncan (Rottie) was the most trustworthy dog with other animals I've ever known. American pit bulls were known as the Nanny Dog for being so good with children through the 1950's and before - "Our Gang"'s dog was a pit bull.
Then they became popular as tough dogs with gangs, getting stuck in videos as symbols of bad-assery and things went worse than south for their reputation.
I've seen a lot of pits through rescue and in the way that treating a chihuahua like a hand bag makes them into snipey neurotic little things, constantly antagonising and yanking on pits will make them bounce at the end of leash and growl. Pretty much any breed will react that way.
Once you get them away from the idiot macho owner, the challenge is channeling all that terrier energy into something positive. Training, trail running...getting their ya-yas out is the key thing, just like any terrier.
As to what they were bred for, one pit bull rescue person explained it to me like this: yes, some were bred to go for other animals. But they also had to never ever turn on their human owners. So you get a dog that at heart is extremely loyal literally to their detriment. Even dogs who were actually bred for dog fighting can come out and not be fighters.
For some really amazing and uplifting stories about what happened to Michael Vick's dogs (an American football player who ran a horrific dog fighting ring) have a read: These Were Michael Vick's Fighting Dogs. Where They Are Now is Beautiful.
As a side note, most people think that Rottweilers were bred to be human protection or fighting dogs. Nope. Their name in German is 'Butcher dog" and not because they killed anything. Their traditional use was as flock guardians, cattle herders and once the cows were slaughtered for market, drove dogs (pulling the meat cart to market).
Brogan was rescued from a dog fighting ring (or rather his mum was) so it could be argued that he was from a long line of dogs bred to fight, even if that wasn't the traditional job of Rotties. He and his fellow littermates all went on to become family dogs and of course as I'm always proud to spout, Brogan passed his Mobility Service Dog certification with flying colors.
