Walt Conte

"Ogre: A Pit Bull Story" begins with Tony Marsetti, a small, very intelligent adolescent trying to deal with all the problems faced by a boy in life- bullying, school work, infatuation, parental demands, and the betrayal of friends. It also confronts the conflict between what the world has struggled with since the beginning of recorded history- the desire of mankind to get revenge for real and perceived wrongs and the teachings of some of the great religions like Buddhism and Christianity. Tony comes to grips with this when he losses a beloved member of his family. Should he seek revenge as his father wants or should he "turn the other cheek" as his mother believes a Bible believing person should do? He discovers that although Christianity teaches non-violence and forgiveness, there are times when a person must not retreat. But he also learns that there are times when revenge no longer accomplishes much of worth. The novel explores the very real world of illegal dog fighting, of martial arts training, of school bullying, of young love and the betrayal of friends.

The setting for the novel is during the 1950's in the real town of Ambridge (combining the words from the factory- American Bridge), Pennsylvania, founded by J.P. Morgan as a "smokeless" community where the structural steel for some of the industrial boom in the U.S. would be completed.

The author's knowledge of the Pit Bull and the association of breeders/fighters, also known as the "Fraternity," goes back more than fifty years. Athough the writer does not approve of the fighting of dogs in the pit , the money contests are a reality and sadly there are more matches in modern times than ever before. Unfortunately many individuals have obtained the breed known as the Pit Bull Terrier and have used them as the extension of their egos just like the Doberman Pinscher, the German Shepherd and the Rottweiler were used in the past- if a man owns a "bad" dog then he must too be a "bad" man. The book attempts to show how the reputations of various breeds of dogs can be destroyed by the unscrupulous.