CINCINNATI (AP) - An animal shelter in Cincinnati says it has to
euthanize more than 1,000 pit bulls a year.

Pit bull dogs are illegal in Cincinnati, because the breed sometimes is trained to fight and can be overly aggressive.

Officials at the SPCA shelter there say they have little choice but
to euthanize many of the stray pit bulls that are taken in.

The dogs can't be adopted out to city residents. And many don't
have tags that would help find an owner.

Some are euthanized within a week; others have to be kept for
months while criminal cases wind through courts.

The city pays the SPCA up to $100,000 a year to house those dogs.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)