(approximately 3 to 6 months old) Theodore was set on fire and chased into an apartment building crawl space after forcing him to fight another dog. The injured puppy suffered burns on one-fourth of its body, including on its face, back and legs. Photo Courtesy of Chronicle/Paul Chinn

Pit bulls are probably the most abused and misunderstood of all the dog breeds in this country. Your awareness of this problem and commitment to end the plight of abused animals can make such a difference to so many defenseless pets. Please take a moment to learn more about the true nature of these dogs and support the League’s efforts to put an end to this senseless violence.

See Pit Bull Facts and Fiction.

Read Gracie's story here.

Unfortunately, there are still some pit bulls that are bred and raised for dog fighting - a barbaric blood-sport that is gaining popularity across the country. These animals are trained to have vicious dog aggression and to literally fight to the death in arenas called pits. Smaller dogs are often used as "bait" and are ripped apart in training by the fighting dogs that have been driven into a fighting frenzy. As part of strength conditioning, young pit bull puppies commonly have tires chained around their necks and are forced to run chained behind moving vehicles. To condition their jaws for fighting, they are often forced to hang by their teeth from tree branches or rafters knowing that if they let go, they will fall far to the ground. Some sadistic owners will callously punish the losing dogs in horrific ways such as dowsing them in gasoline and setting their paws on fire, running them behind cars until they collapse from exhaustion and are dragged to death, and even throwing them from rooftops like old garbage that is no longer useful or wanted, like our poor Gracie was.

Terrible things are done to pit bulls every day. Things that are too gruesome and heartbreaking to relate here, but you should know that they are happening. Contrary to popular opinion, pit bulls are not the problem; they are merely the result of abusive cruelty and owner irresponsibility. The real problem lies in the mind-set of the people who raise them to be vicious.

North Shore Animal League America believes that by educating children of all ages to care about animals and give value to all life, we can stop the terrible mistreatment of pit bulls and so many other animals that are misunderstood, tortured and abused every day.

Please support the League's efforts to bring animal awareness into the hearts of children of every age, and put a stop to the abuse and suffering of pit bulls and countless other mistreated and misunderstood animals.

Make a donation to "Gracie's Fund" today and help us put an end to animal cruelty.

Help Stop the Pit Bull Ban in NYC – read the Open Letter to Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr.