Hear hear, ELVIS and clairey, cruelty to animals frightens them and puts them in a position where they have to defend themselves. Dogs are naturally pack animals, loyal and peaceful, and it is only in extreme situations that they HAVE to defend themselves. It takes a LOT to provoke most dogs-think about all the people who abuse dogs and get away with it because the dog trusts this person, no matter how they behave towards it, and will never "turn".
Surely if you were cornered and scared you would respond in a similar way, except that dogs can't speak and reason. Few dogs lash out without warning, and just as you get humans that are unbalanced, so you get animals with similar problems. And if these problems are irreparable, then there are humane methods to destroy dogs, there is NO justification whatsoever for cruelty. I am looking at my dog as we speak, and my god if anyone tried to hurt him, they would KNOW cruelty.