Hundreds of pit bulls euthanized in 2013 in El Paso County

Heidi Harrow has lived with pit bulls all her life.

“I’ve had her for about 3 1/2 years,” Harrow said.

And she insists her pit bull isn’t aggressive.

“She’s the sweetest dog I ever met,” Harrow said. “Somebody comes to my house she doesn’t even bark, she wags her tail.”

It’s contrary to the stigma and some statistics about pit bulls in El Paso County.

“I think one bad thing happens, there have been pit bulls that have bit people, Chihuahuas that have bit people. But if you meet my dog, you’ll think she’s not mean at all,” she said.

The Humane Society of the Pike’s Peak Region tells us 443 pit bulls were put down because of either aggressive tendencies or they simply weren’t chosen for adoption.

“We’re outraged by the number of animals we have to euthanize all the time,” said Jan Smith. “We do see a large influx of those animals coming in.”

The next highest breed was Labradors, but only 50 of them were euthanized last year.

Part of it is the popularity of the pit bulls.

“We have a lot of people who are breeding pit bulls, we have a lot of challenges and competition. We’re doing the best we can,” Smith said.

The law enforcement division reports one in four dogs that attacked humans, were pit bulls or pit bull terriers.

But Harrow is still convinced that the breed is safe.

“I grew up with pit bulls so I’ve always had them, always loved them. None of them have been aggressive and I’ve never had any problems with them,” she said.

She, for one, is devoted to the breed.

Adoptions have been higher with the Humane Society this year, but they also say they’ve already had to put down 300 pit bulls.