The National Pit Bull Victim Awareness campaign brings awareness and attention to the injuries and deaths caused by pit bull-type dogs in the United States and Canada.

The Victim Awareness campaign derives its name from the National Pit Bull Awareness Month, when pit bull enthusiasts seek to promote pit bull-type dogs as safe pets for families and communities. Instead, we ask you to consider the thousands of victims of pit bulls and the enormous financial consequences to communities.

In the not quite nine years since “Pit Bull Awareness Day” debuted, 2,793 pit bulls and close pit mixes have attacked 1,067 children and 1,189 adults in incidents in which 208 people were killed and 1,891 people were disfigured. Merritt Clifton, October 3, 2015

To anyone who has been a victim of a pit bull attack, the need for a national day of awareness for these dogs is clear. Pit bulls are in the media spotlight for good reason. Hundreds of people, many of them children, are attacked, injured, bitten, or killed by pit bulls in North America every week.

“For 32 consecutive years, pit bulls have accounted for half or more of the fatal and disfiguring dog attacks in each and every year. Never has any other breed category accounted for even half as many.” Merritt Clifton, Editor, Animals 24/7

In addition to attacks on people, pit bulls killed more than 14,250 dogs in the U.S. in 2013-2014. They were responsible for 61% of the fatal dog attacks on cats in 2013-2014. The attacks leave behind grieving owners, many of whom are injured during the attacks and suffer PTSD for years to come. Pit bulls attack thousands of horses and farm animals every single year, incurring huge losses of income.

National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day, the 4th Saturday in October, is a day to educate the public and to warn the public of the danger of pit bulls in the communities in which we and our dogs live. It is an opportunity to speak on behalf of pit bull victims, both human and animal. It is an opportunity to introduce the truth about the dogs commonly known as “pit bulls” and to advocate for breed-specific legislation (BSL).

Please see our Partners and Friends page and link to their sites for extensive information about the crisis.