Thoughts on Pit Bulls

I am the proud mother of two very well-behaved pit type dogs. Both were rescued - one was a stray and one from a local rescue group. When I found out that my girl (she's now two and a half) was a pit (like most people, I couldn't identify a pit, either), I started reading as much as I could find about the breed. I was very apprehensive about bringing this "vicious" dog into my home with two cats.

I have no more doubts. I will never own another breed of dog. My dogs are intelligent, learn quickly, and well-behaved. People say that only drug dealers and white trash have this breed. That could not be farther from the truth. I live in a suburban neighborhood and work as the Business Development and Marketing manager at a Catholic financial institution. I have a Bachelors and Masters degree in Business and Marketing. And, guests to my house always comment on how well-behaved and docile my dogs are - especially when they find out that they are pitties.

It is not the fault of these dogs that they have been bred to fight other dogs. It is also not their fault that some sick people have trained their dogs to attack humans and other animals. Don't even try to tell me that all pits are bad. People train them to be that way. Blame the deed, not the breed.

Discriminating against my dogs is the same as racial discrimination. If you were attacked by a person with light skin, does that mean that every person with light skin is going to attack you? If your attacker had blue eyes, would you try to ban all people with blue eyes from moving into your city? Maybe require them to wear a muzzle and carry excessive insurance?

It is not fair to group people into general categories, and it is not fair to group all pit bull type dogs into a general category.