We are "pitbulls" and we are good dogs.

This is a book about differences, similarities and assumptions.

I started this project by asking people to bring their "pitbulls" and "pit-mixes" to photo shoots in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. I didn't ask for breeding papers, I didn't specify purebred American Pit Bull Terriers, I left it up to dog owners to self-identify their dogs as pitbulls or mixes, because they had decided themselves or been told by a shelter, a vet, or a DNA test that is what their dogs were. The result is a collection of dogs that look very different from one another, and yet, if a legislator or a landlord saw any of these dogs, he would call them all "pitbulls."

The point is that while some of these dogs are purebred American Pit Bull Terriers (APBTs), the only true "Pit Bull," many of them look the part closely enough at first glance that they are lumped in to a loosely formed concept that is popularly referred to as the "pit bull" or "pitbull." I use the single word, non-capitalized "pitbull" to refer to dogs under this broad umbrella, to distinguish from reference to the APBT breed.

The dogs featured here are Boxer mixes, American Bullies, American Bulldog mixes, Dogo Argentino mixes, Whippet Mixes and so many other kinds of breed mixes it will not do to list them all. Some of the dogs that look the most "Pit Bull" actually have the least APBT DNA according to their tests. But looks and labels aside, these dogs all share one important trait: they are all good dogs.