An image-rehab campaign, unmatched by anything waged in Hollywood or Washington, has been unleashed.

Not 'just for tough guys

Best Friends Animal Society, aided by Pet Smart Charities, recently launched a campaign called Pit Bulls: Saving America's Dogs to overcome "the media-driven bad reputation." It offers education, supports groups opposing breed-specific legislation (often aimed at Pits) and features an adoptable "Pit-Bull type" dog regularly on its website from shelters.

A parade of Pit Bulls: Volunteers from Pretties with Pitties, led by co-founder Jessie Chilcote, walk adoptable pit bulls past beachgoers along Sunset Liffs in San Diego. 

The non-profit StubbyDog.org, launched in January, already has a community of thousands, says founder Michael Mountain. Pit facts, stats and tales abound on the site; soon the organization will begin "working with people in the entertainment industry" to use Pits in loving-dog story lines in movies, sitcoms, even games. "We want to fit this dog into people's minds in different ways," Mountain says.

Pretties with Pitties, volunteers attired in pink tank tops, do weekend walkabouts in San Diego with adoptable rescued pits. The "stigma attached to the breed" dissolves quickly when folks see the canines goofing off with walkers. "The message is these dogs aren't just for tough guys," says co-founder Kerri Ewing.

There are also websites, such as PitBullLovers.com and PitBullHappenings.com, and blogs, including Pittiesincity and Elderbulls. "Many of us who have come to understand (pits) feel bound to make reliable information available," says Dan Meagher, founder of PitBullPositive.org.

The anti-Pit side is also being heard. Dozens of groups such as The Truth About Pit Bulls counter what they call Pit Bull propagandists with harrowing tales and examples of brutality.

The pro-Pit side remains undeterred. Love of the breed, but also a numbers reality, motivates them. In many shelters, 40% to 80% of dogs are Pit Bulls or Pit mixes, or they look like Pits (though genetic testing has shown many look-alikes haven't a drop of the breed in them). "Any short-haired, muscular mutt is perceived as being Pit Bull," says Best Friends' Ledy VanKavage. Once that label's attached, chance of adoption often falls dramatically.

What about when Pits do hurt people?

Yet BAD RAP, an early leader in rescuing, socializing and re-homing Pit Bulls, as well as offering breed-specific information and classes, has so effectively reframed Pits' image in the San Francisco area that the 12-year-old non-profit now helps rescuers elsewhere. During five-week-long Pit Ed Camps, BAD RAP "offers everything in our trick bag," says co-founder Donna Reynolds, including overcoming challenges and arranging low-cost sterilizations.

"It used to be that the concern was with predicting everything that might go wrong," Reynolds says. "Now, increasingly, people are embracing them as dogs like any other dogs."

Some Pit-loving groups steer clear of addressing incidents of Pits hurting people or animals. Others, while noting that attacking dogs are often misidentified as Pit Bulls and attention escalates when Pits cause harm, acknowledge that some pits have been made unpredictable by bad treatment, poor training and/or owners who encourage tough-dog behavior.

Any dog can become aggressive if neglected or abused, or if "they've never been properly socialized, if you've tied them up or fenced them up," Mountain says. "It's not the breed to be blamed, it's the other end of the leash."

Defining 'Pit Bull' is filled with pitfalls

Dogs with the "Pit look" might have some of the two pure breeds in them … or none at all.

That's because several other breeds — including Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Boxers, Mastiffs or even Labrador Retrievers — bear a resemblance to the Terriers.

FIND THE PITBULL

Only one of the pictures below features the real American Pit Bull Terrier. Take the test to see if you can find it. To find the breed of a dog, click on image.

Note there are no mixes or rescue dogs of unknown background who's breed could be debated.

All dogs have been picked from breeders' websites and should be good representatives of their breed.

When you are done, ask your family and friends to take to test and watch the results.

For many people, a Pit Bull is a a big headed dog, or a dog with cropped ears. For some it's a brindle dog, a big, stocky dog, or one with an eye patch.

Quite often dogs that attack are identified as Pit Bulls when they are not.

There are 20+ breeds that are commonly incorrectly identified as Pit Bulls.  

Visit Understand-a-Bull for more information. 

CLICK ON THE DOG YOU THINK IS THE PIT BULL TO FIND OUT THE CORRECT BREED INFORMATION.  WERE YOU CORRECT?

Adapted from: Find The Pit Bull