Machete, the Cane Corso that killed a boy, "had showed no sign of aggression."

Said the mother of the dead 4-year-old. The neighbors tell a different story:

"Those dogs were vicious," said building superintendent Kenny Risher, 50. "They stink and they are nasty. The same dog ate their (pet) rabbit."...

Risher and other neighbors said [the boy's stepfather Damian] Jones would wear a protective arm guard while training the fierce dogs outside the family's Brownsville apartment.

"They looked mean," Risher said. "Nobody would want to go near them. They were trained to fight."

Some recalled the dogs foaming at the mouth as Jones worked the dogs into a street-clearing frenzy.

"It was a violent dog," said neighbor Anthony Brown, 35, of Machete. "Dangerous. A big dog. The whole block is scared of that dog."...

Great-grandfather Jamaal-Uddin said Machete was typically laid-back. "I guess it's just like humans," he said. "It's the quiet ones you have to watch."