Pit bulls, owned by three presidents (Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter), several American geniuses (Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck) and countless celebrities (Mary Tyler Moore’s pit bull, Spanky, alerts her when her blood sugar drops), have been vilified in the press for many years as aggressive and dangerous.Despite the breed’s bad reputation recently, for generations the breed was known as “The Nanny Dog." At the beginning of the last century these smart, loving animals were recognized for one thing above all others, being a great pet for kids.That’s why Buster Brown’s dog was a pit bull.That’s why The Little Rascal’s dog was a pit bull.That’s why the symbol of the United States itself for over 100 years was a pit bull.Times have changed.Rene Stufano of the Joe Black Effort, a local animal rescue, told the Review recently that she attributes this change in attitude toward pit bulls not to any fault of the breed, but mistreatment and misrepresentation by humans.One such animal, a one-year-old female recently rescued by the agency, is a glaring example of the way the dogs are ruined by abuse and neglect.“We found her tied with a log chain,” Stufano said. “She is a one-year-old female, and already trained to fight.