But we concur with the RSPCA's Victorian president Dr Hugh Wirth who believes the troublesome American pitbull should be exterminated as a breed.

It's a sad thing to say about any species of animal, let alone a dog - man's best friend. But the American pitbull has proved itself more as a natural-born killer than a cute and cuddly pet for the kiddies. This was illustrated again with an attack on a man in Melbourne.

There are tough restrictions on the breed already and it is difficult to understand why anyone would want to own such a dog.

Just as we don't allow people to keep other wild animals, no Australian should have an automatic right to house such a beast.

And another thing...

The fragility of life was well encapsulated by a training buddy of Kiama cyclist Jason Stortz, killed on the weekend: "I was heading back and he was heading up the hill. I smiled and waved to him. Ten minutes later he was dead."

The accident is the subject of an investigation. Suffice to say, any loss of life on our roads can be avoided. Today a young family and a large ring of friends mourn a bloke who by all accounts never took for granted his life - as short as it turned out to be.