I have a shelter dog that we adopted. I have absolutely no idea what sort of mix she is. People who should know tell me that she has some Pit Bull in her.
This is the sweetest, gentlest dog I have ever owned. I have a really hard time believing she is part-Pit.
Surprise! Join the club. In early 2006 I went looking for a Great Dane Laborador cross and acquired a fine, loving, funny puppy from a humane society. As Ulysses grew up, he turned out to be half Pit instead of Dane. Now, at a bit more than six and a half, he is the most loving, friendly, self confident dog in the world.
Astoundingly, for most of our history Americas nickname for Pit Bulls was The Nanny Dog. For generations if you had children and wanted to keep them safe you wanted a pit bull, the dog that was the most reliable of any breed with children or adults.
The Nanny Dog is now vilified by a media that always wants a demon dog breed to frighten people and LHASA-APSO BITES MAN just doesnt sell papers. Before pit bulls it was Rottweilers, before Rottweilers it was Dobermans, and before them German Shepherds. Each breed in its order were deemed too vicious and unpredictable to be around people. Each time people wanted laws to ban them. It is breathtakingly ironic that the spotlight has turned on the breed once the symbol of our country and our national babysitter.
In temperance tests (the equivalent of how many times your kid can poke your dog in the eye before it bites him) of all breeds the most tolerant was the Golden Retriever. The second most tolerant was the pit bull.
*rest of the story and many more photos of pitbulls with kids at link*