By Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — At Chicago’s main animal shelter, a pit bull mix wags his tail and licks a visitor’s hand, eager to find a friend. In the next cage, a pit bull snarls and bares his teeth at strangers. Across the aisle, another pit bull barks continuously.
(2) Pit bulls make up 40 percent of the dogs that come into Chicago Animal Care and
Control -- and about two-thirds of the dogs that get euthanized if they can’t be adopted. Animals are euthanized, or put to death, in a quick and peaceful manner by giving them a drug that makes them go to sleep.
This makes it even sadder, because the shelters are full of pit bulls. Animal supporters are trying desperate measures to address the problem.
The problem is simple. People keep breeding pit bulls for money, and owners can’t or won’t handle them, so they end up as one of the most commonly abused, neglected and euthanized pets.
A Bad Reputation
(5) Pit bulls have been victimized by their reputation. They’re not an actual breed.
Pit bull is a general term for a group of dogs including American pit bull terriers,
American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and various mixes.
They're known for their powerful builds, and large, broad heads and jaws. Some love them for their sweetness and loyalty. Others fear them after much-publicized vicious attacks.

(6) Their growing numbers at shelters have run counter to what otherwise has been a great success in animal care in recent years. The number of impounded and euthanized pets has declined, due primarily to sterilizations and adoptions. In
Chicago, the number of animals put down each year dropped by more than half from
2006 through last year, to about 8,000. The number of pit bulls impounded, however, went steadily up from 2010 to 2012. The number euthanized generally also increased.
The dogs’ fate depends on how they are treated by humans. But people do not agree what to do about them.
For those looking to own a pet, pit bulls are seemingly everywhere. They’re for sale on eBay for up to $1,000 each, at pet stores, in parking lots and even on ice, during breaks at Chicago hockey games. On a typical day recently, Chicago’s animal control website showed 41 dogs up for adoption. Twenty-eight of them were pit bulls.
Pit bulls appear to end up in shelters far out of proportion to their numbers.
Strays And Surrendered Dogs
In Chicago, pit bull mixes account by far for the most reported dog bites. Some owners give up on the dogs. In other cases, owners say they lost their home or lost a job and can’t afford them.
(11) The most common reason owners give for giving up dogs is that landlords didn’t allow them, according to the American Humane Association. Pit bulls are not welcome in many apartments.
Sgt. Mark George, head of the Chicago police animal crimes unit, said dogfighting is not as much of a problem as it was in 2007, when NFL star Michael Vick was sentenced to prison for it. But it still goes on. Some people get the dogs for protection in crime-ridden neighborhoods, he said. Gangbangers often own pit bulls as a symbol of their status. Investigators run into the dogs when they search for drugs or guns.
Susan Elliot runs the animal control department for a town in Illinois. She says the breed is popular both with “thugs” who often mistreat them and with rescuers who fall in love with them. About half the dogs the shelter gets are strays, while the others are surrendered by their owners.
“The problem is, people don’t want them after they’re a year old,” Elliot said. She said they're not as cute then, and people find that taking care of dogs is a lot of work.
They get lazy and they complain the dog has too much energy.
"They’re wonderful dogs in the right hands," she said.

1. What is a good alternative title for the article?
A. Pit bulls a nuisance to society
B. Pit bulls overcrowding animal shelters
C. Pit bulls: A problem for gangbangers
D. Pit bulls: A favorite among dog breeders
2. Select the paragraph from the article that BEST supports the fact that pit bulls account for a large percentage of dogs that inhabit animal shelters.
A. Paragraph 2
B. Paragraph 5
C. Paragraph 6
D. Paragraph 11
3. Which sentence is MOST important to include in a summary of the article?
A. Sgt. Mark George, head of the Chicago police animal crimes unit, said dogfighting is not as much of a problem as it was in 2007, when NFL star
Michael Vick was sentenced to prison for it.
B. In Chicago, the number of animals put down each year dropped by more than half from 2006 through last year, to about 8,000.
C. Pit bulls make up 40 percent of the dogs that come into Chicago Animal
Care and Control -- and about two-thirds of the dogs that get euthanized if they can’t be adopted.
D. Pit bull is a general term for a group of dogs including American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and various mixes.
4. How is the main idea MOST CLEARLY developed through the course of the article?
A. by highlighting the reasons that led to an increase in the number of pit bulls in animal shelters
B. by focusing on the techniques adopted by animal shelters to increase the number of pit bulls
C. by describing the increase in the cases reported of dog bites in crimeridden neighborhoods
D. by focusing on the number of cases reported to the Chicago police animal crimes unit
5. Words to define: eager, snarls, euthanized, fate, surrendered