the kid's favorite new show is ...

... Pit Bulls and Parolees?

I shouldn't be so surprised, as she loves watching any show that features dogs, cats — all animals, really.  She may actually end up a vegetarian/veterinarian someday.

The show is pretty compelling stuff. I'm still not sure how Tia Torres makes ends meet at her Villalobos Rescue Center, as she seems willing to take in any dog, no matter their breed. Obviously having the television show is helping, but it's only been airing since 2009, so how about before that? Maybe the adoptions help fund her efforts. The parolee part of the show is less prominent than the animal part. It may have been the gimmick to get the show on the air, and it is an interesting factor in Torres' work and efforts to help people who have had a few strikes against them in their life get a new start, and to help dogs that have gained a bad reputation in the world find forever homes. Not every dog or human story ends happily. Some of the dogs get ill and Torres must make a hard decision. Some of the parolees just can't get it together and Tia has to fire them. In the four shows that we have seen so far, two workers had to be let go because they were either lying and not showing up for work, or worse, mistreating one of her canine charges.

Pit Bulls and Parolees may not have been my first instinct to turn on, but I have to admit that I am interested in Torres and so respect what she is trying to accomplish. I'm more of a cat person, and have thought off and on in the past that if I hit the jackpot I might want to set up a similar place to rescue abandoned cats, or to finance a spay and release program for some of the local feral kitties.

When we adopted our dachshund Angel from the local animal shelter I was amazed at the large number of pit bulls in the pens. Torres started out in California and then relocated to New Orleans, where the show is now filmed. They also have a second location in New Mexico, where the older or "un-adoptable" dogs can live out their days. I wonder if Pit Bulls and Parolees will inspire some similar efforts here in Florida and elsewhere in the country.

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