Pit bulls revered as icon, feared as beast

"People say, 'Oh no, you have a pit bull, we're going to have to watch it,"' said breeder Stephanie Davis, of Vallejo.

Four serious pit bull attacks have been reported in Northern California this summer, including the nationally publicized mauling death of 12-year-old Nicholas Faibish by two family dogs in his San Francisco home.

The attacks spawned public outcries to ban the breed. Faibish's mother has been charged with child endangerment for leaving the boy home alone with the dogs, and California legislators are poised to consider a law change that would allow cities to enact breed-specific legislation, such as mandatory spaying and neutering.

So what drives people to own the stout breed?

Owners and registered breeders say people continue to be drawn to pit bulls because of their quintessentially American traits: strength, loyalty and tenacity.

"Once you've owned one it's hard to go to any other dog," said breeder Apryl Hall, of Sacramento. "They're smart and learn fast and they'll be loyal to the end."

The American pit bull terrier is as much of a part of the nation's culture as Lassie or Scooby Doo. The dogs were bred from English bulldogs and came to the United States in the 1700s, where they were used for working and sport fighting with other dogs.

A pit bull draped in red, white and blue was a popular pro-American symbol in the early to mid-20th century.

Pits bulls have appeared on the cover of Life magazine three times, and a pit named "Bud" went on the well-chronicled trip - and what's believed to be the first cross-country drive - in 1903 with Horatio Nelson Jackson. Jackson later donated his car and Bud's goggles to the Smithsonian Institution.

The first superstar dog in the early years of television ("Our Gang" and "The Little Rascals") was a pit bull named Petey, the quirky, perpetually curious canine with the distinct black circle around one eye.

There are countless online stores devoted to pit bull merchandise including collars, paintings, tattoos, and red, white and blue T-shirts that read, "If It Ain't a Pit Bull It's Just a Dog."

The breed is also a perennial symbol of toughness. A Florida law firm uses the pit bull wearing a spiked collar as its symbol, and tennis star Venus Williams was recently referred to as a pit bull for her athletic prowess.

Still, pit bulls have been portrayed as the stuff of nightmares recently, a modern version of Cerberus, the three-headed mythological dog who guards the gates to the Underworld. Invariably, recent newscasts depict the breed as such, showing clips of pit bulls gnashing their teeth against chain link fences.

An urban myth held that the dogs' jaws lock during a bite. While pit bulls do have stronger jaws than most breeds, there is no locking mechanism.

Experts say many of the dogs blamed in recent attacks are not even authentic American pit bull terriers - which often weigh no more than 45 pounds.

"They're hybrids and shouldn't even have the same name because they're not the same dogs," said Liesl Wilhardt, a Harvard-trained theologian who runs Luv-A-Bulls pit bull rescue in Portland, Ore.

The American pit bull terrier wasn't even viewed as a problem breed until recently; that designation was saved for Rottweilers, German shepherds and, occasionally, Doberman pinschers.

Pit bull lovers blame the altered perception on unscrupulous breeders who have created bigger and more aggressive dogs.

In the 1980s, breeders say, pit bull terriers grew popular among criminals who knew of the dogs as adept fighters and saw their potential as "walking weapons."

Pit bull supporters are confident the dog can return to iconic status, but say it will take strict monitoring of breeders - not breed-specific laws.

"It's heartbreaking," said Davis, the Vallejo breeder. "I've been getting more questions like, 'Dogs don't just snap, do they?' I'm doing 100 times more education than ever."