Because exchanging guns isn't as sexy as "pit bull"

Turns out that being a felon possessing a weapon illegally as well as some cocaine is far less awesome than a territorial dog getting shot and injured. Now maybe if the dog in question was a nondescript mixed breed, the story would have been less sensational. But the dog was a "pit bull" and thus the sexy-meter skyrocketed from an unattractive "Illegal guns traded in parking lot" to a steamy "Monstrous pit bull shot trying to eat officer's head".

Call me crazy, but I'm just far less offended by instinct driven behavior and an appropriate dog-logic to defend pack and turf than I am by people who trade guns, deal drugs and steal cars.