"Pit Bulls and Parolees"

Tia Torres, founder of pit bull rescue Villalobos Rescue Center.

Since October 2009, the popular Animal Planet show Pit Bulls and Parolees has aired on Saturdays at 10 p.m. Although the show may seem like just another reality TV show, it offers great insight into what the pit bull breed is all about.

The show details the lives of Tia Torres and her children as they operate the largest pit bull rescue organization in the country: Villalobos Rescue Center. Although the New Orleans center often aids other dog breeds, it specializes in pit bull rescue and rehabilitation.

Cheech and Chong, two American Bulldog brothers who were
rescued by Villalobos Rescue Center.

Throughout the five seasons it has aired, the rescue center has saved the lives of dogs who came from horrible pasts. These include:

• abandoned dogs
• abused dogs
• dogs in the fighting business

However, Tia and her family don't just save canine lives. They also give parolees a second chance by offering them jobs at the rescue center. The parolees take care of the animals, which includes bathing and cleaning up after them, and often find a reason to turn their lives around simply by working with such a loyal and loving animal.

Here is an introduction to Villalobos Rescue Center and

the fifth season of Pit Bulls and Parolees:

Although I am a new viewer of the show, I think the show does a great job of portraying the breed as it truly is: loving, loyal, and vastly misunderstood. It is touching to see starving fighting dogs who were tied up using giant ship chains joyously lick the face of a parolee rescuer as he or she cuts them free. 

The passion that Tia and her family and staff show while rescuing these animals, even if it means crawling under a chain link fence or navigating a trash-filled, abandoned house to get to a dog, is incredible. Their enthusiasm and efforts really pay off and show that pit bulls are not aggressive killers, even when a human taught them to be.

Eyelashes, a rescued pit bull puppy currently adoptable
at Villalobos Rescue Center.

"Cheech and Chong." Photograph. vrcpitbull.net, 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

"Eyelashes." Photograph. vrcpitbull.net, 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

"Pit Bulls and Parolees." IMDb, 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

"Pit Bulls and Parolees Tia Torres." Animal Planet, 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.