Media hysteria and bad owners have greatly damaged this breed, and every incident involving a pit bull makes it worse for the entire breed and their owners, often prompting breed specific legislation or breed bans.
The pit bull is typically a people loving, intelligent and fun breed. Due to their affinity with people, this breed is a good candidate for rescue and adoption, but potential homes need to be carefully screened to insure that the new owners understand and accept the responsibility of owning a pit bull. This is not a breed for everyone! The only way to repair the pit bull's bad reputation is to keep them in the hands of responsible owners.
Animal shelters in the United States euthanized approximately 1.7 million dogs in 2008; approximately 980,000, or 58 percent of these were assessed to have been pit bull-type dogs.
