It can be hard to overcome a bad rap. Just ask any homeless pit bull.

Pit bull is a term commonly used to describe several breeds of dog — typically referring to American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

There are too many pit bulls and too few homes in the Austin area, according the Mower County Humane Society.

“It is alarming, and it is putting a squeeze on us,” Vice President of the Mower County Humane Society Barry Rush said.

At the time being, half of the shelter’s dogs are pit bulls, pushing them over capacity. The Humane Society currently has 18 cages and 22 dogs.

“It’s a problem throughout Minnesota, throughout the country,” Rush said.

The situation has been on the rise for the past six months in the county, and Rush does not expect it to slow down anytime soon.

Rush blames the problem on the over-breeding of pit bulls and a negative reputation that makes people not want to adopt them.

“The first problem lies with backyard breeders, who think they can breed two or three litters a year and then sell the puppies for $600 or $700 each,” Rush said.

“It is just supply and demand. There simply is not much of a demand for them anymore, and they end up in shelters,” he added.

“Each puppy, that backyard breeders produce, signs a death warrant for another dog,” Rush said.

The Mower County Humane Society is a no-kill shelter, but they can only house so many animals.

The Humane Society screens families who want to adopt pets and they do not allow pit bulls to be adopted as watch dogs.

The application process includes an in-person interview at the shelter, as well as a home visit done by an adoption investigation team.

“We do not want them to be trained to be aggressive,” Rush said, pointing to the second problem with the breed.

Rush contends that pit bulls are sweet, friendly, family dogs which suffer from a bad reputation because they are often trained by irresponsible owners to be violent guard dogs.

While Rush contends that this behavior can be “trained out” of pit bulls by professional dog trainers, he said they do not have the expertise to shelter dogs with those problems. Pit bulls are screened for aggressive tendencies before the shelter accepts them.

“The pit bulls we have are very friendly. All they want to do his have their belly scratched,” Rush said.

The Mower County Humane Society is also currently near capacity on cats. The shelter has 115.

Tabitha, a six year old tuxedo-colored cat, has lived at the shelter longer than any other animal. She has been there since May of 2004.

“Everyone wants a kitten or an unusual cat, like a Persian… It’s a rough world out there for common adult cats because of the competition,” Rush said.

The Mower County Humane Society, 1010 10th Drive SE in Austin, has animal viewing hours every Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and every Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. Pets can be viewed at www.mowercountyhumanesociety.org. All pets are neutered or spade, vet-checked and up to date on shots prior to adoption. There is a $75 adoption fee for cats and a minimum fee of $75 for dogs.