I have friends that firmly believe that the Pit Bull Terrier is grossly mischaracterized. “It’s not the breed, it’s the owner.”

I wish I could agree with them. Because they are right in some ways, it’s not the fault of the breed that they are aggressive, protective, quick to anger, and single-minded. They’re bred that way. That’s what they are supposed to be.

They have lots of wonderful traits—they’re loyal, they’re loving, they’re easy maintenance. But they are fighting dogs.

My very first job was one where I worked for a veterinarian. I cleaned kennels, walked the dogs, fed and watered the boarding dogs, and did other low-skill jobs that high-school students are so good at.

There are four dogs that I remember most from those days. Two were rottweilers, the other two were “Staffordshire Bull Terriers”. Megan and Luger, the two Rotties are irrelevant to this particular story.

The Staffies were a pair of dogs. They came from the same family and were always boarding together. They were incredible dogs. Affectionate. Sweet. Quiet.

They came in several times during the years that I worked there. Each time was the same. They were boarding while the owners were on vacation. We took care of them, we sent them home.

Always, the card was labeled with a name and “Staffordshire Terrier”.

Until one day, when I came in to work and was asked to help draw a vein. Well, two veins actually. One by one, I helped kill those two dogs. They were as always, friendly, affectionate, and quiet. You’d never know that they were there because they turned on some kid. They went from safe to dangerous in an instant. I cried when it was done.

It wasn’t until years later that I discovered that the “Staffordshire Terrier” and the “American Pit Bull” were the same breed. I still remember the dogs fondly, but in the end, those two dogs damned the breed more than any dog-fighting ring ever could in my mind. If those dogs were dangerous, how could any pit bull ever be safe?