Pits got a bad reputation because hood rats and white trash wanted mean dogs.
A pit can be turned mean rather quickly so they made the Bad Dog list.
I think shelters in most states are required to do a check whenever a dog on the list is adopted.
The couple that had Penny probably bought into the hype and were scared to keep her.
As you say it worked out good for both of you.
I remember the different breeds of dogs that were ostracized over the years.
In the 50’s it was German Shepherds
In the 60’s it was Dobermans
In the 70’s it was Rottweilers
The 80’s and 90’s shared all three as “bad dogs”, but then the New Millennium came along.
Now it’s the “Pit Bull” which isn’t even a breed, but a catch-all phrase for American Staffordshire Terrier, Pit-Bull Terrier, Some English Terriers, and a few others. Penny is American Staff, Yellow Lab, and probably Boxer, but with that face of hers, she is called a “Pit-Bull”.
But she’s MINE...All MINE! :-)