SoCalMom - I think they were discussing to you how she isn't quite defending her actions, have you read the other statements people have made with respect to it? It doesn't really seem so.
Either way, she is asking for help, and she is receiving it, and has already said she will try most of the solutions people have given her.
No, people should not hit animals, but i don't think that she is necessarily just "making excuses" for her friend. Sometimes people do get stressed out and depressed and take their stresses out on the wrong people. Look at people who have killed their children because of post-partem depression, or other stresses. I don't think it is really just as simple as 'making excuses'.
I can udnerstand why she doesn't want to just simply barge into her friend's home and yell at her, or phone the RSPCA to report her. She wants to help her, and I think that is great.
Yea, I have read everything actually
The statements I have made are
MY opinion.
I think they are excuses.
I don't think her friend should be defended. Do you understand that? It doesn't really seem so.
All I'm trying to say is these are my opinions. It doesn't make them wrong or right in this situation. She posted asking for advice/opinions. That's what I did. I told her what I would do, and gave my opinion on it. Just like you did. Did I jump on you for your opinion because it differed from mine? No.
I think you see things in black and white too much which this issue SoColMom.
I believe that people can do wrong things to animals for a variety of reasons, but whether that makes them a cruel person at heart is a diffferent matter. As i have said before, my friend looks after her dog very well in all other area's, its just these issues that need adressing. So basically, if i can change the way she looks after her dog in these matters, then all will be well and the dog will be a lot better off and so will my friend- she'll have the family dog she's always wanted, and the dog will always have the family is craved for.
I am not defending her actions, just explaining why i believe she does what she does so people can understand the situation i am in better.
As i said before, i want to tread carefully with my friend and try and get things acheived first in a friendly, positive and agreeable manner first, if i don't succeed with doing this then i will try a more forceful approach. But doing things like calling the RSPCA would be my last option for now, i will only try it when i have exhusted all other options.
Calling the RSPCA is certainly not the most ideal approach at the moment- not only would it most likely ruin my friendship with my friend and destroy the trust between us, but there would be no guarentee that the dog would be better off either. I will explain: if say the RSPCA took the dog, it would have a relatively good chance of being rehomed because it is still a very young dog, and people like young dogs. But staffies and similar pit bull breeds are some of the most commonly rehomed breeds (if not the most commonly rehomed type of dog breed), animal rescue shelters are already packed full with such dogs. Because of the lack of space (and often lack of people wanting to adopt such animals) and often lack of funding, people like the RSPCA have policies where if they can't rehome the animal in question within a certain period of time and the shelters are already packed full of the animal in question, then the animal will be put to sleep/euthanised.
I would feel absolutely gutted if i discovered that the dog was put down because the RSPCA couldn't find a home for it, and also gutted because doing such a thing would probably destroy my friendship with my friend- she would never forgive me if not only did i take her dog away, but it was also destroyed because of my actions. So you should understand why such a thing would be my absolute last option.
Also, although the dog would have its youth on its side, no-one wants a young barely trained uncontrollable dog, which i think is what this dog will turn into if my friend doesn't start to properly train it- the RSPCA has been known to euthanise animals purely because they have training or psychological issues and are not easily/readily rehomeable, the RSPCA does not have unlimited money to train their animals, and so they often just euthanise the ones which are going to take too long to train etc. I know this to be true as well- my mother saved two cats from the RSPCA once who were about to be euthanised because they were too wild.
I do think that the RSPCA does a good job at doing what it does, but you must also understand that is not always the salvation that people hope their animals will get either.
So this is one of the many reasons why i want to get things sorted in a more positive and agreeable manner with my friend first. I care about my friend, but i also care about the dog. If i can reach an option and change this situation so everybody is happy, then that is the way i want to do things most.
, i think you are right in that she is probably feeling a bit down and depressed right now. On the one hand she has more family and friends around her where she lives now, but on the other hand she's having a hard time financially and with her boyfriend and just generally keeping on top of things at the moment in her life. 
sometimes a few days alone, with one your pets in the trusty care of a sitter, makes you refreshed and better able to handle things that they throw at you when they come back from their vacation. If she's feeling like there's too much on her plate, offer to take the staffie for a few days, just to give her a break? I don't know, it's a long shot, but depending on her reaction when you return the dog from it's vacation, you'll perhaps have a better idea on how she feels about the dog. You'll also have some one on one time to really assess the dog for damage, physical or otherwise. It's subtle and if you phrase the request correctly, she'll just think that you love her staffie. You could even phrase it like you were thinking about getting a staffie and wanted to try one out for a few days to see if you liked the breed. B) 
Of course, I was constantly wiping drool and I think this is the number one reason why I have a Pomeranian. No drool. 
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