First - Marshall Tanick is sort of a one-man quote machine who gives his direct line to all the Strib reporters so they can get an instant quote on anything. Tanick has been cited as representing dog owners, dog victims, slander cases, employment law, real estate, criminal cases, just about anything, anytime, anywhere. It's great advertising. And it's free.

Second - controlling an unfenced dog is really easy. It's called rat poison. Some people mix it with catnip and kitty chow and leave it overnight near their bird feeders to get rid of feral (i.e., wandering out of their own yard) cats.

Third - anyone talking about using a pellet gun on an attacking pitbull is not thinking straight. Aiming is tough when a dog is attacking you; the pellets bounce if there's any angle to your fire; and the dogs are bred with a minimum of pain sensors anyway. And if you do hit him, he'll probably just get more pissed off.

If you want to actually do something about the problem, do what you know you need to do, before it's too late.