Pets

Throughout the Michael Vick dog-fighting scandal, one group served as a strong and sensible advocate for the dogs that the suspended NFL quarterback was alleged to have mistreated. Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls -- BADRAP, for short -- also worked to make the most of a prime opportunity to educated people about this much-maligned collection of related breeds.

BADRAP continues to argue against breed bans and in favor of each pit bull being evaluated as an individual when being considered as a pet. The group's new blog added an element of timeliness to a Web site (www.badrap.org) that can't be topped when it comes to pit bull advocacy and education. The site offers information about these dogs in a way that's both sensible and cautionary.

As the pit bull debate continues, it's important to understand as much as possible about what's behind the problems with pit bulls -- and to explore all possible solutions. BADRAP can help.