Thanks to all of you who have stopped in to visit my site, and those who have signed my guestbook and left me your thoughts and comments. Because it is difficult to answer you each individually, I wanted to address a few commonly asked questions from those of you who want to help rescue or the breed.

When you see negative articles about the APBT in your local newspaper, take a moment to write an intelligent answer immediately to the editor of the paper. Make it brief and to the point - don't get on a soapbox! - but let the person know that 1) the problems rarely belong to the dog, but generally to the owner and the way he/she has treated the APBT's and 2) it would be nice if, instead of smearing the front page with horrific stories just to sell newspapers, the paper would take a true investigative attitude and speak to those who KNOW the breed, and allow them to present their side of the stories as well. (If you wish to offer yourself and your pit, feel free, but be sure you know what you're talking about if you're going to defend an entire breed. Loving the breed without the facts will do more harm than good.)

• If you want to know if there is an APBT/AmStaff rescue near you, contact your local shelter(s). They would know. Make sure any rescue you support does very thorough work in both evaluating/neutering, etc. the dogs in its care, and equal care in screening the homes the dogs go to. Volunteer your help to them if you have the time.
• You can always help by fostering a needy APBT for a rescue if they work that way. Just make sure the rescue person will place a dog with you that is suited for your circumstances and all animals currently in your home.
• Adopt a needy APBT from the rescue or your local shelter, if your circumstances pemit.
• Train your APBT (rescue or otherwise) to be a therapy dog, to receive his/her CGC, to compete in obedience - whatever the dog can do that will improve the image of the APBT in people's minds.
• Alert the media to any positive events/occasions where an APBT will shine as the joyous wonder that he/she is. Let them print that!
• Obedience train your `pit'. Make sure that he or she is a model citizen in public, and that when people meet your `pit' they are pleasantly surprised by what a lovely, friendly dog he/she really is - totally unlike the media portrayal. The dogs alone cannot change their image - it can only happen through us!
• If your community/state has specific breed laws, or your non-specific breed dangerous dog laws are in danger - get active! Contact your congress people or local politicians and find out what you and your friends can do to stop discrimination against one or more specific breeds. Remember, these laws are not just targeted at the bull and terrier breeds, they usually include Rottweilers, Chows, Akitas, German Shepherds, Dobermans and more. There is strength in numbers - and this may be the time to get to know some other dog people in the same boat!
• If you are a breeder: be sure that all puppies who are not going to a true show home are sold on a spay/neuter contract; that is, the owners will not get the dog's papers until they have provided proof from their veterinarian that the dog has been neutered. Screen more carefully! Don't send dogs across the United States to unknown cities and towns without having an idea what the place is like. Many inner city shelters are awash with purebreeds and rare breeds, sent by breeders who never checked deeply enough to find out they were sending their pups to a hellhole. And no one suffers more from this practice than the APBT.

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