Pit bulls are not vicious.

Lately, there have been many news stories covering the latest pit bull attack and continuing to demonize them and perpetuate the dangerous myth that pit bulls are dangerous; that couldn't be farther from the truth. These dangerous myths only continue to allow breed specific legislation and result in thousands of homeless dogs in the shelters. Pit bulls are not evil, dangerous or mean; they are kind, sweet, gentle and greatly misunderstood.

First, I want to point out that "pit bull" is not a breed; it is an umbrella term encompassing multiple breeds of dogs. According to Dog Breed Info, multiple breeds fall under American Pit Bull Terrier bloodlines, American Bully Bloodlines, and American Staffordshire Terrier bloodlines. They are all from different bloodlines. Not all "pit bulls" are the same.

Also, let's take a look at the myth that all pit bull breeds are vicious and will turn on their owner at any moment: pit bulls passed the American Temperament Test Society Temperament Test with an 86.4 percent test score, while Golden Retrievers passed with an 84.9 percent. Pit Bull breeds have a better temperament than the "All American family dog" aka Golden Retrievers. We must not forget that any dog, regardless of breed, can be trained to be kind and loving or mean and vicious.

Thanks to the sensationalization and attention gained by reporting on stories where pit bull breeds attack people, the myth is perpetuated that they are vicious dogs. These poor dogs have an unfair rap because of how they are portrayed in films and in the news. Where are the stories about the Golden Retriever or Labs who attack their owners? They do happen but aren't reported on because they don't gain the same amount of attention.

This past summer, one of the local news stations reported on a story where a young boy was attacked by dogs that were St. Bernard/Lab mixes and hospitalized for his injuries, but that story didn't receive as much attention because the dogs weren't described as "pit bull" or "pit mix", therefore the comment section on the news station's Facebook page wouldn't be full of vitriol and hatred towards pits, prompting people to share the story based on the false logic that pits are vicious and evil. Another myth that's floating around is that pit bulls bite the hardest and lock their jaws on their victims; that is simply not true. No breed of dog has a locking jaw.

My own personal experience with pit bull breeds has been positive; I have never been afraid of a pit bull or felt unsafe around a pit bull. I have never felt threatened by a pit bull. A pit bull has never threatened to attack me. I was attacked by a Cocker Spaniel who nearly tore my ear off when I was 3 years old; The bottom part of my earlobe is unattached as a result.

I have been bit a mini pinscher who was unprovoked. My younger brother nearly had his eye tore off by a blue heeler and a lab mix lunged at my youngest brother unprovoked when he was a baby. When I was 10 or 11 we had a Jack Russell Terrier who was vicious and untrained who would go after our cats and snap at us. Does this mean that Cocker Spaniels, Labs, Blue Heelers, Mini Pinschers and Jack Russel Terriers are bad breeds who should be banned? No it does not; it means that they were not trained and socialized in puppyhood or they were abused by their previous owners.

My boyfriend and I own two pit bull breed dogs; one is an American Bull Dog mix named Bud (the white dog in my cover photo) and the other is an American Staffordshire Terrier Mix named Odin (the brindle dog in my cover photo). I have never been afraid of either of them and neither dog has acted vicious or mean towards me. My only complaint about them is they can be too needy and too clingy at times. They love people, they love to snuggle and they love to play. They are great around our cats and around children.

Pitbull breeds are more energetic than some breeds and do need to be socialized early in their lives. They need exercise and more attention than some breeds do or else they will get bored and become destructive by way of chewing up your shoes and shredding whatever is in their path. They won't hurt you, but they will chew and shred your items if you leave them unattended around a highly energetic dog who is bored.

I am not saying that it isn't horrible or sad that people have been victims of attacks by pit bull breeds; I am saying that it is unfair to blame an entire cohort of dogs that fall under the "pit bull" umbrella because it isn't the fault of the breed; it's the fault of an owner who abused/neglected their dog or trained it to be mean and vicious. Like I said, any dog regardless of its breed can be trained to be the nicest dog or the meanest dog.

Dogs are not vicious beings; humans are vicious beings. You don't see dogs abusing or exploiting living beings who can't defend themselves - that is the act of some humans. Humans are the dangerous and untrusting ones; not dogs.

Give pit bull breeds a chance: they will be the most loving and loyal companion you will ever have.