Carina Borja is searching for fosters - not to parent children, but rather, pit bulls.

Borja is the founder of Animals First Foundation, a non-profit animal-rescue group based in West Seattle that has recently teamed up with the Kent shelter. Overflowing with pits, the shelter sought Animals First's assistance in placing the dogs. The two have a foster program to save shelter pits under way.

Along with finding the pits fosters, and eventually permanent homes, Borja is searching for avenues of blood donation. Pits have a universal blood type that could be used to save canines in need of transfusions.

Not everyone sees pits as being helpful though, Borja says and notes the notoriety of Michael Vick's dog-fighting program has given pits a negative image, one that has been exaggerated by the media.

"Animals First Foundation goes with the need. The need is in pit bulls - we go with the hard ones," Borja says.

Breed-specific legislation classifying pits as "potentially dangerous" or "dangerous" is proving to be a hindrance in Borja's enticing of fosters. According to DogsBite.org, Auburn, Buckley, Enumclaw, Everett, Kennewick, Kirkland, Oak Harbor, Pasco, Prosser, Royal City, SeaTac, Toppenish and Yakima have all adopted such legislation, restricting or banning pit bulls within city limits.

Even in cities where pits are legal, foster families face losing their homeowners insurance. Many insurance companies, although not fully banning pits, have a "heightened sensitivity to larger, more aggressive dogs," says Jon Osterberg, a Pemco insurance spokesperson.

"Dogs that are classified as aggressive by the Humane Society, the American Kennel Club and the American Veterinary Association draw closer scrutiny," Osterberg says. However, "breed is only one of the factors looked at by our risk management people. Training, socialization, gender, confinement, control of the owner, length of ownership, the owner's experience and his or her claim history is also considered."

Borja is hopeful, saying, "We've had a couple people switch companies." She notes that State Farm and USAA are the most lenient companies; State Farm will only refuse to cover a dog that has a history of biting.

For those who wish to foster pits, or any of Animals First Foundation's animals, Animals First Foundation will pay all related bills, including food and medical care.

Before the animals are placed into a home, they are vetted (spayed, neutered and given appropriate shots) as well as assessed and rehabilitated by trainer John Panchot. Fosters can request Panchot's help at any time and Animals First Foundation will cover the expense.

Panchot says that most of the pits he's worked with through Animals First Foundation "don't need any work at all" or have an aggression that's "so mild" he just has to "interact with the dog slightly differently."

Both Borja and Panchot note that fear and confusion are often misunderstood for aggression.

"We take pits from a lot of guys in their early 20s whose landlords don't allow them," Borja says. Most often, pits are bought by people with little training skills who want a guard dog or a cute puppy.

"Over-breeding and backyard breeding are other problems," Borja says.

"Pits don't come out of their mother ready to attack you," she says. "They are extremely smart and need proper physical and mental training. If left unchecked and undefined, they'll make their own decisions that won't fit into our way of living. For example, if they're hungry, they'll attack someone with food."

Panchot says that in training the dogs, he "takes away all their responsibility," making them look only toward their handler for decisions. He says these dogs have a high prey drive that is often poorly fixated due to improper upbringing. "By redirecting their fixation from a child, another dog or a squirrel to a scent, they could be great drug dogs," he says. "They will go to great lengths to sniff out the drugs."

Borja is working with the Department of Corrections to train the pits to be drug dogs for local prisons.

Fostering is the most important aspect in saving the pits and putting them to good use for society, Borja says. She asks that fosters take in an animal for a minimum of six months, but is willing to work with someone who only wants to foster for a month. She says that fosters get to love a dog that could easily love them back.

"Pits are very loyal, they've been known to die with their handlers," she says.

Her long-term goal is to find these dogs happy homes.

She says that "rescuing is a Band-Aid; we need to start with people becoming pet owners."

For more information about Animals First Foundation visit www.animalsfirstfoundation.org.

Leah Gohring is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory and may be contacted at bnteditor@robinsonnews.com