I was just a kid when my family adopted our first dog from the Washington County Humane Society. I had no idea of the stigma about her breed until years later, and if no one had told me that the uninformed public considered pit bulls "dangerous" dogs, I never would have known.

She was my best friend and companion for ten years. She should have had so many more years to follow, but she developed Cushing's disease. Even when she was so sick, which a brain tumor, even, she never let it get her down. The one morning she was so proud of herself, she couldn't wait to show everyone what she had in the garage--she'd killed an opossum! Toni fought so bravely for almost six months, but the medications just weren't working. She was still in pretty good shape, but she wasn't going to get any better. It was probably the hardest decision to have her put to sleep before she started to suffer. It just wouldn't have been fair to her though to do anything else. She'd been so full of life that getting sick to the point of having to be carried outside would have crushed her.

We buried her in our backyard on Dec 2, 2007. Today is Oct 16, 2008, and I am still bawling my eyes out remembering her. I miss her so much. All her crazy antics, me taking her on bike rides LONG before the Dog Whisperer ever suggested the idea, her obsession with tennis balls. No dog will ever replace her, but I will not give up fighting for pit bulls and their reputations... The best dog I've ever had, and likely will ever have, was a pit bull.