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Maria Meyer's life took an unexpected turn when she and her husband encountered a pit bull at a Germantown construction site 10 years ago.

The couple took a shining to the affectionate stray they began to call Tia, and the experience inspired Meyer to start an animal rescue group, Tia's Promise, about seven years ago.

The group champions American pit bull terriers and other breeds collectively referred to as pit bulls. Meyer, who does not keep the animals awaiting placement like traditional rescues, has helped about 35 dogs find homes. Owners who can no longer keep their pit bulls contact Meyer, who screens potential adoptive families and helps match dogs and families.

At a recent pit bull awareness event the group held, visitors could meet the dogs, which Meyer said can change long-held beliefs about the breed.

"Pits are much harder to place, and it takes longer to find homes for them," Meyer, 41, said. "Many people get their perception from the media and it's often negative. They've formed an opinion based on what they see on the news, and it's usually about dogs that have been violent."

Meyer and her husband eventually brought Tia home to live in their garage while they looked for her owners. The then-inexperienced dog watchers left Tia at home one day with the garage door cracked so she could go outside, a practice Meyer now warns against. When she returned the dog was gone.

Some of the neighborhood children said Tia had come outside to sit with them as they played and that as she walked up Meyer's driveway, a motorist stopped and picked her up. Tia was not registered because the couple had been attempting to locate her owners and did not want a dog.

Meyer found Tia at the Montgomery County Humane Society's shelter, which had a policy of euthanizing stray pit bulls more than 6 months old. She adopted Tia.

"We brought her home and she was the joy of our lives," said Meyer, who moved from Germantown to Boyds with her husband, Clint, to have more space for their six pit bulls. "We learned how this breed is so discriminated against. She's so sweet, and it didn't make sense to us. She totally changed our lives."

Tia died three months ago from cancer.

The county humane society instituted the rule on euthanasia after an employee was attacked by a pit bull at the shelter in 1998, but the policy gradually relaxed over the years, spokeswoman b j Altschul said. Current rules for adopting pit bulls include mandatory obedience training, she said.

Larger numbers of pit bulls have been in need of homes. Many owners are losing their homes to foreclosure and finding rental properties do not allow the dogs, Meyer said. Meanwhile, more are being bred because of their popularity, among dog lovers and those with dubious intentions, such as dogfighting, she said.

"We do get a lot of them," Altschul said. "They are a popular animal in the community but a lot of people don't know how to care for them. I haven't heard of any problems [with adopted pit bulls] because of the care we take in making a good match." Statistics on pit-bull adoptions were not available.

Helping others understand pit bulls has become Meyer's mission — even walks become an opportunity to educate interested children about myths surrounding the breed, such as that they have "locking jaws."

"I'm very happy we've been able to help the few we've been able to," Meyer said. "This has become my passion."