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Let's face it, pit bulls don't have the greatest reputation. When a story breaks on the evening news about someone being brutally attacked by a dog, it seems that it's always a pit bull that's involved.

But local animal shelter volunteers want people to know there is another side to this story, and another side to the breed.

They see a lot of pit bulls dropped off at their doors, whether by owners who can't properly care for them or officers who've responded to scary incidents.

As a result, pit bulls can be hard to adopt out, and shelter administrators have to be careful that the dogs are not placed with an owner who just wants to strut around town with an animal they'll train to be vicious.

Sally Holns, a Mansfield Animal Shelter volunteer for almost 10 years, wants the public to know that, despite what they have heard, pit bulls can be very sweet, lovable dogs. "Like people, you have to take each one individually," she said.

Other local shelter volunteers and animal control officers interviewed for this story agreed.

"People have huge misconceptions about dogs in general," said Bernice Clifford, a former Attleboro Animal Shelter volunteer who is now behavior and training director at Animal Farm Foundation in Duchess County, N.Y.

The foundation trains pit bulls exclusively, and worked with some of the dogs that were rescued from former NFL quarterback Michael Vick's dog-fighting compound in Virginia.

"Pit bulls are the targeted breed right now, but they're very easy to handle," Clifford said.

The Web site DontBullyMyBreed.org works to counter the stereotypes associated with pit bulls. It cites a study by the American Canine Temperament Testing Association that found 82.5 percent of American Pit Bull Terriers that were given a temperment test passed compared to 77 percent for all other breeds combined. The test placed dogs in a series of confrontational situations and flunked the ones that showed signs of aggression or panic. Pit bulls achieved the fourth highest passing rate of all 122 breeds tested, the association found.

Sandi Ruscetta, who was the volunteer manager in the Taunton shelter and now volunteers at the Rehoboth and Swansea shelters, said staff carefully observe and assess the adoptability of animals. They look for aggression with people, cats, or other dogs by checking if they bite when their toy, bedding, or food bowl is touched, she said.

Mansfield Animal Shelter currently has three dogs available for adoption and two of them are pit bulls - Sophia and Isabella.

"They were brought in by their owner who picked them up from a rescue," said Jeffrey S. Collins, humane officer at the shelter. "They had all vaccinations. They weren't fighting dogs, but they fought each other."

Collins said he is more concerned about the third dog at the shelter - a black lab/shepherd mix - that has to go to training camp to deal with his aggression. Collins said he has taken in 2,500 dogs over 19 years and can't remember any problems with children who have surrended or adopted pit bulls.

There are bad apples in any breed - even humans, Collins said.

"It's very hard to find a home (for pit bulls) because several home ownership insurance (policies) don't cover pit bulls (or) Rottweilers," he said.

Attleboro animal control officer Butch Keefer said there is currently one pit bull at the city shelter, named Redford. Eleven months old and about 55 pounds, he was surrended on April 19.

"He's a playful, crazy dog who eats like a pig," Keefer said. "He's young and good looking."

Keefer said many young people want pit bulls to fit the tough guy persona that some hip-hop artists and other celebrities adopt. However, only people who want dogs for the right reasons are allowed to take them home, he said.

Nancy Robinson, canine coordinator for the Friends of the Attleboro Animal Shelter, said she was bitten by a pit bull that had been left in the car. She said her elbow is still numb but she has full use of it.

"The owner was incarcerated while the dog was in the shelter," Robinson said. "We assume the owner taught it not to be nice. Pit bulls are awesome. It's not the dog's fault. It's the way he was raised."

Attleboro animal control officer Karen Harvey said she has a pit bull mix, a mastiff and a 26-pound pug, and people find the pug the scarier of the three. She said she hasn't had any problems with guests fearing the pit bull.

"He's a big wuss," Harvey joked.

Tara Vocino is a student at Wheaton College in Norton, and she can be reached at vocino_tara@wheatonma.edu.