Interestingly, 'Pit Bull' is an umbrella ter that includes several breeds: American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and American Bully.

Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon, is one of the people who attempted to show that negative views about pit bulls have often been shaped by misunderstandings. In the process, however, Dickey has unwittingly become a heroine for the pro-pit bull community and the target of threats and harassment from those who see her as an apologist for a vicious animal.

"People who have studied Pit Bull attacks, like Jeffrey Sacks at the CDC, have shown that when it comes to fatalities caused by Pit Bulls, the breed identifications are often not accurate," Dickey told National Geographic. "The title 'Pit Bull' has expanded so dramatically over the years that people are lumping any dog with a large head and short coat into that category rather than separating out each of the Pit Bull breeds."

Dickey also pointed out a study on fatalities between 2000-2009 in the journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association which found that in over 80 percent of those cases there were four or more significant factors related to the care and control of the dog. "These were dogs that had not been socialized; were large and sexually intact; and had no relationship to the person who was killed. In other words, perfect storm of factor upon factor."

Moreover, even the "these dogs are bred for fighting," argument is only partially corrent."It's true that the original breed, the American Pit Bull Terrier, which originated in 1889, was developed for fighting. But the three other breeds that are lumped into this category have always been dog show conformation breeds," Dickey said. "They don't have that heritage. The fact that they get lumped in is part of the problem because we’re basing things on what they look like and not necessarily what they are."