Editorial note: The author of this story does not live in the city of Wayne and therefore is not breaking any city laws.

So I have this amazing, perfect and beautiful dog at home. Her name is Kokki, and she is the sweetest thing on the planet.

Literally, this girl melts your heart. Oh, and she knows it too. My little girl rules the roost, especially because she knows Zac, my fiancé, won’t punish her. She just gives you this face that is so cute even though you know she is mocking you because it says, “You’re not going to do anything.” She is also super cuddly and I love it. She loves to wiggle her way in between Zac and me and spread out, making herself comfy. It never fails. She will find a way into the tightest corner just to be next to you, or sometimes, technically, right on top of you. Her fur is super soft, and so is her tongue. She will lick you to death because she loves kisses, and she also loves to lick your feet clean (yeah, I don’t know, it’s just her thing). She’s a complete doll. The thing is though, she looks like a pit bull.

Now we don’t know what her breed is for sure, but based off her looks she resembles a black Lab/pit bull mix. Yet, despite what some believe of pitts, this just makes us love her more. As I have already described, she is the nicest dog you will ever meet. Not fierce, not mean, but a complete sweetheart. What upsets me the most is I discovered that pit bulls are not allowed in Wayne and the city will make you move or find it another home if you adopt one. That’s completely insane. This breed is one of the most banned breeds now because some idiot decided to spread the rumor that this dog breed, as a whole, is mean.

It’s because of this person, or even a group of people, that pit bulls are now frowned upon. What’s even worse is I hear way too many stories of pit bulls being killed mercilessly with poison, pill overdoses, guns and so many other ways simply because a neighbor, friend or even some stranger believes that they are doing its owner a ‘favor.’ What favor are you doing to that person’s best friend? For me, someone murdering my Kokki would send me into a deep depression and on a rampage looking for her killer. Anything like this is unethical. Just like banning them.

What’s worse is we didn’t always feel this way about pit bulls. They use to be an icon for America. They were enlisted in wars, including World War I, and fought along our soldiers. They also were kept as protectors for children as well as playmates. The Darlings in Peter Pan could literally have had a pit bull instead of a Saint Bernard as a nanny because they are so good with kids. But because we are an insensitive race and often don’t like to look at all the facts, pit bulls are now the LEAST loved dog because they became more popular in low-income areas where they weren’t getting the proper care they needed. And so just like any other dog, they had to fight for their resources and a few incidents made all Hell break loose. Now we hear more and more about mean pit bulls because of the people who are training them to be that way. But guess what, just like you can make a pit bull mean, you can also make ANY OTHER DOG MEAN.

Pit bulls are not just some strange phenomenon or mutated gene or something. These are good dogs raised by the wrong people. Don’t hate them, love them, THEN will you finally see the creatures they truly are, man’s best friend with extremely big hearts.