Educating people about - heaven forbid! - pit bulls

Will wonders never cease? Pit bulls are in the headlines yet again, but this time, for a good reason.

The Kennebec Journal here in Augusta, Maine, reported yesterday that the local animal shelter will sponsor a seminar tomorrow called “Pit Bull 101,” with the help of an organization called SOME Pit. The goal is to dispel negative stereotypes, encourage adoption and promote responsible ownership.

"We hope people will come and take the time to learn about a misunderstood breed," Hillary Roberts, executive director of the Kennebec Valley Humane Society, told the newspaper. "Adopting out healthy, happy, sweet pit bulls into the community that are safe and good ambassadors for their breed is the best way you break down barriers."

Martha (using chocolate lab Aquinnah as a pillow)

As the owner of two-year-old Martha, a pit bull/lab mix and shelter alum who is (in my humble opinion) one of the cutest, most lovable canine clowns around, my reaction to this event is a big and hearty “amen.”

Hateful readers crawled out of the woodwork yesterday in response to the newspaper story, as they always do whenever pit bulls are in the news. ("Exterminate the breed," was one comment posted on the paper's web site.) Such critics have strongly held but unsubstantiated opinions based on raw emotion and dubious "statistics" from questionable web sites. They rarely cite firsthand experience in their diatribes, presumably because they have none.

(Memo to gullible Internet users who don't know how to evaluate information: Some web sites are more credible than others. Just because you read something online that purports to be true doesn't necessarily mean it is true.)

Pit bulls get a bad rap not because of what they are but because of who they hang out with - in many cases, irresponsible owners on the fringes of society who either fail to train, socialize and control their dogs or openly encourage them to be aggressive. Of course, it’s the dog, not the jerk at the other end of the leash, who takes the heat.