Speak Out: Have Perceptions Changed on Pit Bulls?

Are pit bulls killers, prone to violence? Or are they just another powerful breed caught up in hype, like the doberman or rottweiler? Has your perception of this breed changed in recent years? 

Find Love in Pit Bulls is holding a pit bull awareness and fundraising event 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday at Hooters in North Charleston. Star of Animal Planet's "Pit Boss" Sebastian Saraceno will be at the event.

Here is what Saraceno told Charleston City Paper:

There is no merit at all to the bad reputation (pit bulls) get. The only reason — and this goes for all animals that people own as pets — the only reason that pit bulls would be aggressive is because of human nature and the owner making them that way. If owners are responsible in socializing them and responsible in raising them in the right way, then no, they’re not aggressive. I am dumbfounded at how gentle they are for the most part. I mean, you’re always going to have your bad apple in any dog breed no matter what, but for the most part it’s all about how you raise it and the environment you bring it up in.

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There have been a number of fatal dog maulings in the Charleston area. The two most recent — one in Dorchester County and one in Mount Pleasant — involved young children and did not involve dogs labeled as "pit bulls." The breeds were described as lab or lab-shepherd mixes. 

Speak Out: Are perceptions changing on pit bulls? Tell us in the comments!