Petey was a pit bull. Petey, the beloved dog of “Li’l Rascals” fame, explains Tia Maria Torres, founder of 14-year-old Villalobos Rescue Center and the star of new Animal Planet reality show, “Pit Bulls and Parolees.”

VRC is a rescue, rehabilitation and placement facility in Acton for abused and abandoned pit bulls, where the dogs get spayed and neutered, given medical treatment, and are re-acclimated to the care of humans in order to be adopted. This is partly made possible through the efforts of local parolees, which is shared with audiences on Animal Planet.

Tia Maria answered some questions about her facility and the new show:

CCM: Why Pit Bulls and Parolees?

TMT: I’ve owned pit bulls for so many years that I just wouldn’t own another breed of dog. Throughout the years I’ve worked in the social services field as a youth gang counselor, teacher in a “special” school that mainly housed gang members, etc. So, wanting to help people has always been a part of my life, in addition to rescuing dogs. In taking on adult parolees, one of the first things I noticed is that they relate to the pit bulls especially. Society tends to pre-judge the entire group, as opposed to basing their decisions on a one-by-one basis.

In March of 1999 (we) joined forces with L.A. City Animal Services and became the first group that created an all pit bull support group that offered many free services to the public such as training, education, etc. When the rest of the country was banning the breed, here in L.A. we were educating and becoming pro-active. As for the parolees, it’s no big secret that there are absolutely no programs available to these guys/gals when they parole from prison to teach them skills and help with resources that make them productive members of sociey. These duties are left to the small, grassroots non-profit organizations to do.  The state offers nothing but empty promises of “programs” in prison that don’t exist and re-entry grants upon release that I’ve yet to see.  

 

 CCM: Why did you start VRC?

 

TMT: It started somewhat by accident.  Originally we started off as a wolf-dog/wolf hybrid rescue - thus the name Villalobos. Then I took in a pit bull from the Lancaster shelter after she was brought in as evidence from a meth lab bust where all the people at the location had been murdered. She was the one that started it all for me and it kept growing from there as I saw the need to help this breed.

 

CCM: What’s your hope for the show?

 

TMT: Awareness is the key here. We are getting an overwhelmingly positive response for both the pit bulls and the parolees…so we know we’re on the right track.  

CCM: How often do you shoot the show & is it all there at VRC?

 

TMT: We shoot throughout the week and most of the filming is done here at our facility. Right now we’re on re-runs from the first season. We just had our season finale a few weeks ago. We go back into production next week and begin filming again in February. We should start airing again this summer.

 

 CCM: What is one thing that would surprise people about pit bulls?

 

TMT: That they are ranked by the American Temperament Society of the United States as one of the 5 most stable breed of dogs.