A Valley animal shelter is having a hard time finding homes for pit bulls because of their bad reputations.

Many people walk past the pitbulls without looking twice.

Kimberly Searles with the Arizona Humane Society said fears about pitbulls are unwarranted.

"They are the biggest loving animals you could ever meet," she said. "People kind of tend to shy away from the breed, knowing that they are one of the bigger animals used for dog fighting."

About half of the 800 animals at the Humane Society are pit bulls or pit bull mixes. Most are strays, some have been dropped off by their owners.

"Sometimes they might just be too much energy for an owner to handle," Searles said, "and sometimes it's just a simple matter of costs."

Attacks can happen with any breed, Searles said, and children should be watched around all animals at all times.

"You hear a lot more cases of dog bites or nipping incidents with some of the smaller breeds, like Chihuahuas, actually," said Searles. "Unfortunately, because of the severity of the cases, that's why you hear about the pit bulls."

Searles said pit bulls love to make their owners happy and that's probably one of the reasons for their bad name -- they will fight other dogs if their owners want them to.