Hello, my name is Jessica Cruz and I am sophomore in high school. I have 6 members of my family; my mother,my father, my two older sisters, and my very special dog, Eli. My family and I adopted our dog from the local shelter when he was about three years old. He is 6 years of age now and he has impacted or family in such a positive way. Eli is one of the sweetest and kindest dogs I have ever met. When he greets visitors he licks their hands and rolls over for a belly rub. When adopting him the shelter staff informed us that he was the dog that was used to see if other dogs socialized well with other breeds. Our dog is a very loving, caring, and special dog.This may shock you but, he is a pitbull. When most people initially hear the word pitbull they instantly think of an aggressive, dangerous animal,and that is far from the truth. When walking down the street with my dog, parents of small children move their child away from my dog in fear that he will "attack" them. Due to the stereotypes people associate with pitbulls most will not adopt and 99 percent of pit bulls that enter the shelter are killed. What some people fail to realize is that, yes, some pit bulls are aggressive,but this is true with all breeds. It is not the fault of the animal if they are aggressive, but it is the fault of the person who raises it.I want to live in a world where all dogs are not pre stereotyped and put down due to the bad connotations that are associated with certain breeds. By having the government contributing to pitbull rescues like Angel City Pit Bulls, Bullies and Buddies organization, or any other pitbull rescue center we are able to work together and show people the true loving and kind dogs that pit bulls really are. Pitbull rescues work together to help find pitbulls their permanent home and even support those dogs that are going through the rehabilitation process that were previous victims of animal cruelty. With your help we can bring awareness of this issue to the mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti to give more funding to pitbull rescues and help put an end to the horrible crime, which is the abuse and the labeling of pit bulls. By signing this petition you join our fight to spreading the awareness of pit bulls and putting an end to the bad stereotypes that claim pitbulls are a bad, aggressive, species once and for all.