They’re vicious baby killers, waiting to lunge at the throat. They will kill your children, your pets, even your neighbors.

At least that’s what the media tell us about pit bulls. What the media don’t tell you are the stories about pit bulls protecting children from abusive babysitters. They don’t tell you that other breeds of dogs attack people just as much. Oh wait, they do; they just forget to mention the breed if the dog isn’t a pit bull.

The story isn’t as juicy to read or watch if it’s not about a pit bull or a “dog that looked like a pit bull.”

Petey, the dog on Little Rascals, was a pit bull. He, oddly enough, was not scary.

I adopted my dog Kelly, a boxer/pit bull mix, four years ago. She was in the kennel for more than five months, to the point where she was depressed because no one would even look at her.

She is now home with us — with two very young children, three cats, a bird and a pet rat. No bloodshed here.

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She is the most loyal and sweet creature I have ever encountered. I volunteer at the Humane Society of Waterville Area, working with the pit bulls. A lot of the dogs I have worked with and gotten to know are gone or will be gone shortly.

If we look into these dog’s eyes, they stare back at us with joy and excitement. They don’t expect death, but why are they there? A handful of people have witnessed or read about an attack from a pit bull. The media should tell both sides of the whole story.

Kerri Marion

Fairfield


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