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Pit bull in a shelter
/ Carol Kim
Saturday marked the first ever National Pit Bull Awareness Day.
Over 100 events commemorating the day are taking place across the U.S. including right here in Columbia at the Central Missouri Humane Society.
Members there say they wanted to show how loving pit bulls can be when raised by the right owner.
They say there are many stereotypes surrounding pit bulls, especially about their violent behavior which is the reason so many of these dogs are homeless.
The Central Missouri Human Society took in almost 500 pit bulls last year, only 26 pit bulls were adopted, the rest had to be euthanized.
A volunteer worker Tiffany Mcbee said, "It's our fault for believing the stereotypes, it's our fault for not having tougher animal laws that makes dog fighting illegal. There's no measuring stick. Each community is different, each state is different. There's not a penalty that goes across the board. We've created the monster."
Mcbee urges the residents to stop breeding and to take care of the pit bulls in shelters.
She says currently there are over 13,000 pit bulls types that are homeless across the U.S. and will be euthanized if not adopted.
