There are my two American pit bull terrier/American Staffordshire terriers, aka pit bulls, taking a time out and relaxing in a bit of warm sun shining through the window on a cold winter day.

Charlie, the white dog with the gray spot on his face, is a year and a half old. The vet guesses that Annie, the grey dog, is around 3 years old. They are both rescues from Country Kennel Bully Rescue in Akron, Indiana. Charlie was actually found as a young puppy, sitting in someone's yard in Louisiana after hurricane Gustav hit. He was turned into a local animal shelter, where he was treated for pneumonia.

The shelter was so overwhelmed with dogs from the hurricane that Country Kennel Bully Rescue agreed to drive down and meet the shelter volunteers and take some of the dogs back to their facility.

I happened to be looking to adopt a dog shortly thereafter, and made a visit to Country Kennel, where I met and adopted my goofy-eared Charlie. He slept contently on my friend's lap the entire hour ride home.

About a year later, a little gray pit bull found herself at the humane society in Gary, Indiana, and was about to meet an untimely death. She was one of the many dogs on the euthanasia list.

Fortunately, the humane society sent out e-mails to "bully breed" rescues to see if they would take in any pit bulls, and Country Kennel brought her to their facility.

I was looking for a companion for Charlie, so I went back to Country Kennel to find a dog... and that is when I adopted Annie. I chose the name Annie for her because she was "little orphan Annie" until she found her forever-home with me.

Charlie and Annie have been the sweetest, most loving, playful dogs anyone could ask for. They thrive on the company of people, family and strangers alike, and are most eager to greet people with big smiles and lots of kisses. Despite the unfortunate bad rap pit bulls get, these two are true ambassadors of the breed.

Jennifer Coleman lives in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne.

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