Education- I think this is the key to fixing this problem, and the reason why we have such an issue with this breed. I myself used to be wary of pitbulls. I have had dogs of all breeds in my life since the age of two, yet never a pitbull. "They are vicious", "Their jaws lock". These are the misconceptions I had been given by my family, who were very active in the animal community. We spent many hours volunteering at the Animal shelter both when we lived in Memphis, and Smithville where we live now. I coordinated with the local stores to donate their damaged bags of dog food, and helped with fostering. It wasn't until my (then husband) brought home a 6week old puppy named Lexi that my eyes were opened and my opinion of this breed changed forever. I was pregnant at the time, and furious my husband had brought home such a "violent" breed, but being the animal lover that I was I decided to stop being ignorant judging a breed I honestly knew nothing about, and give this dog a chance. I was amazed by her intellegince and her innate eagerness to please. I started doing my research on the breed and found that this is a common characteristic of the breed. They, IN THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT, are extremely people friendly, and should never be bought with the intent of being a guard dog, because they will probably just lick the intruder to death. They do sometimes have a tendency to have animal aggression, particularly with the same sex. But this too varies with the individual dog. They also have a high prey drive meaning they like to chase small furry things. Yet again that doesnt mean that you won't see a Pit living in perfect harmony with a chihuahua. Lexi proved to be a model pet, brilliant with everyone, but that was because she had responsible owners. From a puppy she was taught who was the boss, was WELL SOCIALIZED with people and animals of all ages and sizes, and taken out into the world on a regular basis to experience life and new things. She was never left for hours or days on a chain or to run loose, free to her own devices. She was treated like a pet, who also was a member of the family. She had a bed as well as a crate that were hers and were respected as hers. She was taught to respect my daughter and her things, just as my daughter was taught to respect Lexi and her things. While I trusted Lexi completely, my daughter was never left alone with her, or any dog for that matter. This is just being a responsible parent and pet owner. Lexi never let us down. She changed my life and opened my eyes to a wonderful breed. Lexi has now passed on, but our life is filled with another joyous girl Loki, along with two of her puppies. We got Loki from a breeder who no longer wanted her while she was still pregnant. Loki is a completley different dog from Lexi. She does NOT like cats or small animals, she will not run up to you tail wagging on the first date. She is a different dog. Some of these things are genetically special to her, while some of it was caused from her life before she came into ours. Loki was just a few weeks shy of her second birthday when she came into my life, so she already had a jumpstart on life. She cowered in fear anytime the central unit kicked on and broke off the leash and ran away four days after I had gotten her when a truck backfired. We found her shaking and tangled in a briar patch in the neighbors backyard. She had to be coaxed off the chaise lounge to go out to potty for the first two weeks she was home and refused to go into the kitchen to eat one day, all because I had set a carpet cleaner close to the kitchen door. You see Loki had not been socialized with much of anything or anyone. Her rehabilitation was a slow one, yet she was always a lover to me and my daughter. In time she overcame her fear of men, and no longer hides when the broom or the vacuum come out. She still doesn't like cats or thunderstorms, but that's where there is a difference between born traits and learned traits. She needed to be shown not to fear all the other things. She along with her two boys Ty and Rai, are the light of our lives, and treated the way a pet should be. They are actually taken care of. Loki had eight puppies and it took me ten months to find the six we rehomed suitable homes. That's right, because this is where the REAL problem is-the owners. Her puppies did not go to anyone that would not provide vet and character references, a home visit, and a spay/neuter contract. I had many people call and say "yes er you got any blue pups" or, "can I pay the $75 adoption fee in payments?". These people did not get a puppy. Did it end up costing me ALOT of money to take care of these puppies for so long in the proper way? Absolutley!!! Was it worth it to make sure that such a "tainted" breed found responsible deserving homes? ABSOLUTELY. This is where we need to look. Let's punish the people that fight these dogs, or leave them chained up with no access to water, or use them as "bait dogs" for their prized fighters. How about some accountability for the ones causing these issues-the neglegent pet owners! Not the responsible pit owners, that are in love with their pet, just as so many love Golden Retrievers and Poodles. People need to learn the proper reasoon to treat and own an animal of ANY breed not just pits. If this could happen, there would be no need for BSL.