I don’t know if the shelters actually designate themselves as “high-kill,” but you hear the term among pet owners.
Those photos you posted completely ruin her reputation! Haha! They are sooo adorable. I love the silly one with her teeth showing, of her lying on her back. That’s exactly my dog’s “silly lying-on-her-back face”!
I see I’ve been ninja’d. It’s not my own term; just something I’ve picked up from association with animal rescue groups. The term differentiates a shelter from “no-kill” shelters, which have a policy of re-homing animals rather than whacking them. Typically, high-kill shelters do not turn any animal away, while no-kill shelters may turn animals down if they are full and already struggling to find homes. Rescue groups tend to “pull” dogs out of high-kill shelters and either put them in no-kill shelters, foster homes, or straight into adoption.
I’ve heard that called the “pittie smile.” 
You can see why it’s difficult to keep little kids from running right up to her. She looks like she wants them to pet her. But not so much.
My former landlords had three pit bulls, vicious looking sumbitches with names like Damien, Satan, and … something else. I can’t remember. They barked like thunder whenever they saw anybody, family, friend, or foe. They had big spiked collars and mean-looking eyes; they were absolutely terrifying.
And as soon as you said hello, they sat down, wagged their tails, smiled at you, and waited for you to pet them. The second you touched Damien’s head, he’d drop to the ground and give you his belly. When you crouched down to scratch him, Satan would lean against you and lick your face. The third guy would hang back until the bigger ones got their scratchies, but he was no less lovable and appreciative.
Here is a picture of my “bad” dog: Sweaterdog | vamdpa42 | Flickr
When I was a kid, the people up the road from us had Dobermans, and every time we rode our bikes past that fence, the dogs would run alongside us and bark. The Dobie family’s kids also used to talk big about how ferocious their dogs were, so I grew up being none too crazy about the breed.
One day, my husband brought this home, and I have to admit she was a bitey little thing at that age. These days, she gets along fine with our two cats, sleeps in our bed, gets lots of hugs and kisses, and expects a taste of what everyone is eating. If I roughhouse with her and my hand or arm slips into her mouth, she’ll open wide to avoid getting me with her teeth, and pretend she was just yawning.
She does take extra attention when she’s being walked on the leash, because she gets tense when joggers run up on us suddenly. I’m sure she would protect us if she thought it necessary. People are afraid of her, which is a little sad, because she mostly just wants to bounce with them like Tigger or give them a friendly snoot in the butt.
We once hired a guy to do yard work at the office who had a massive stutter and a massive, very docile Pit Bull he brought to work. Our only stipulation was that he keep the dog outside.
One day a woman was in the office with her young son, who was acting up. She told him to “go play outside.” Well, you guessed it–the yard worker arrived with his pit bull. I wish I had a photo of the mother’s face when she looked outside and saw her five year old boy “patting the nice doggie.” I’ve never seen anyone leave the office that fast.
My brother had a Rottweiler. And two daughters, who were in kindergarten or grade school.
One day, the children were playing in the front yard. Whenever one of them tried to run toward the street, the dog would stand in their way, keeping his body between them and the street. And then, he would start moving toward the house, forcing them away from the street. The girls were unhappy, but the dog made sure that they stayed out of traffic.
My brother had never trained the dog. He did this solely from instinct. (As I understand it, Rottweilers were originally bred as shepherd dogs.)
By the way, I have never met a mean Rottweiler. They are a large breed with large teeth, but in my experience, they are more likely to lick you to death than to bite you.
The dog was also terrified of the vacuum cleaner. Whenever someone was sweeping, he would run for the furthest corner of the house. But, if one of the girls was in the room, he would stand between the cleaner and the girl.
I’ve got a half German Shepherd half Shar Pei/Akita who I’ve raised since he was 8 weeks old. He absolutely dotes on my two young girls and many nieces and nephews and loves the neighbors and friends who are always stopping by for free beer.
He is wonderful at the 44 acre off leash dog park I take him to. He keeps to himself mostly with a little butt sniffing here and there.
He is also a damn handsome pooch - and he knows it. I hope he lives forever.
That is awesome.
And among no-kill shelters, though I don’t think they mean it to be as derogatory as it sounds. I think it’s an accepted term for shelters, usually in large metro areas, that euthanize most of the animals that come in.
Not a “bad” breed story, but we were researching for a new dog a couple of years ago, and trying to figure out what kind of dog would be unlikely to give our parrot a hard time. The sources we consulted didn’t have much specific advice, but they all suggested that we avoid a hound, because their instinct would be to hunt birds.
Well, of course we wound up adopting some kind of mixed hound dog. And of course she’s completely intimidated by the bird, who chases her across the floor. We speculate that she may have been abandoned to the pound precisely because she’s the world’s worst hunter. And she’s docile and snuggly with the baby; she lays down next to him and waits for him to crawl across her.