Breed Specific Legislation When I initially entered college, I wanted to be a veterinarian. To gain experience in the field I began working at a veterinary clinic. It was there that I met my friend Winter, who made me aware that the social stigma associated with certain breed types is an ill-informed one. She was founder of The Pit Krewe, a pit bull advocacy group, and the proud owner of a pit bull mix. She did not fit the mold of what we are taught a pit bull owner is, and her dog was as loving and well-behaved as any I had met. Through my own work experiences I discovered that some Labradors could be incredibly vicious, and the worst injury I ever saw resulted from a Golden Retriever attack. But the pit bulls I met were very docile in the face of a scary vet visit. They let us poke, manhandle, and restrain them without giving us any reason to fear for our safety. I saw them come into our clinic as service dogs, patiently guiding their disabled owners. They were not monsters, they were best friends. The injustice of biased media attacks which have resulted in legislation against specific breed types is the inspiration for my paper. I want to explore the numbers, such as studies by the CDC on dog bites and reports by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. If I can understand the reporting methods it may help me to understand the results. I will also be reading the positions of different advocacy groups. Dogsbite.org is in favor of legislation, and link to many reports and news stories which support their position. The National Canine Research Council takes a firm position against targeting specific breeds, and also offers many resources in support of their opinion. I believe these will be helpful in showing the opposing viewpoints, but I may have to look elsewhere for hard data. Looking at professionals in the animal field is also important, and I have found that the American Veterinary Medical Association