@JazzysMom:
Very often dogs that shelters have identified as "Pit bulls" and even many in for sale in the papers are not pit bulls, but one of the many breeds often mistaken for them. Here's a fun "game' to see how many people can accurately ID a true pit:
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
That was a fun quiz! I found the real pit right away…but there are quite a few dogs on there that fill the same niche as pitbulls (i.e. dogs irresponsibly bred to sell to urban youth, catering to the desire to "control" dangerous, powerful dogs) Presas, Cane Corsos, etc. Many people who breed these dogs irresponsibly are paying no attention to type, so they end up all kinda looking like pit bulls. Kind of misleading, because by far more pits end up in shelters than any other kind of 'bully' dog....but I bet that American Bull Dogs are quickly catching up.
I do NOT agree with breed specific legislation....but I am very concerned with the sheer number of pits that are in shelters in the urban areas. It is unrealistic to white wash some of the issues that come along with a poorly bred 100 lb terrier; and I don't think it is right to expect the general public, who want to be "responsible" and adopt a dog from the shelter to have to deal with some of the problems that are associated with bully dogs, both practically and socially. Of course there are some wonderful diamonds in the rough out there....but there are some badly damaged bully dogs, genetically and emotionally waiting to be adopted, sadly.....