EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- The dog who bit an El Paso County baby in the face late Sunday afternoon was surrendered by the owner to the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region to be euthanized. Yet some believe the pit bull was not the one to blame.

The incident has provided fuel to the fire for the ongoing debate about the pit bull breed and if they should be allowed as pets.

Renee Dzamko owns and operates a pit bull breed rescue organization, Peanut's Place, in eastern El Paso County and said the recent attack was heartbreaking.

"It just broke my heart," she said. "On the other hand, I feel horrible for the dog. How many dogs have to die, and how many people have to be injured because of irresponsible ownership?"

Pit bulls have made headlines across the country, including in Colorado, after attacking people, especially small children. Attacks in the Denver area resulted in a ban of the breed in parts of the city. For Dzamko, the ban is just plain bull.

"No breed should be singled out," Dzamko said. "[Pit bull breeds] were bred for loyalty and gentleness with human beings."

However, statistics do not always reflect the breed to be kind and loving. According to DogsBite.org, there were 33 fatal dog attacks reported in the U.S. in 2010. Pit bull breeds accounted for 22 of those attacks.

Another Colorado-based group, the Coalition for Living Safely with Dogs, found pit bulls are not the top dog offenders. Between 2007 and 2008, more than 2,000 dog biting incidents were reported in the state of which pit bulls were responsible for 173 attacks. Labrador retrievers topped that number with 273 attacks. It was mentioned that a census of how many of each breed lives or is owned in the state was not available, but Dzamko said it shows that pit bulls are not to blame.

"God did not create [pit bulls] differently," she said.

Instead, Dzamko said the owners of the dogs who attack should be blamed.

"[Dogs] only know what they are taught," she said. "If they don't have boundaries, what's correct and what's not correct or appropriate behavior, things go wrong real quickly."

Dzamko said the problem of aggression in all dogs goes beyond the breed.

"Spaying and neutering is the biggest problem," she said. "It causes a lot of frustration in the animal no matter what the breed. They are genetically made to reproduce every six months. If they do not get that release, they get frustrated and frustration leads to aggression."

Dzamko acknowledged that pit bulls can have a strong bite, but that it is nothing worse than any other dog of similar size.

"Small dog, small bite. Big dog, big bite," she said.

There are more than 30 dogs, primarily pit bull breeds, available for adoption at Peanut's Place. Dzamko said most of the dogs, which have been rescued from all over the country, have been waiting for a loving home for more than five years.

For more information about Peanut's Place, how you can adopt from the non-profit rescue organization and ways to donate, visit PeanutsPlaceBullyRescue.org.