Pit Bulls and Parolees - Animal Planet

[lilymax]

I apologize in advance if there is an existing thread for this show, but I looked and couldn't find it. The show is still on and there are new episodes. I used to love AP but stopped watching to some extent when they seemed to have nothing new but redneck-related shows about people who trap animals for a living, like the blonde guy who does the yell and likes to catch turtles. They really went overboard on the topic and not in a good way.

I really like Tia. At first, I thought the woman looked like she had a rough life and was rough around the edges, and she is. She has/does have a hard life, but she doesn't complain about it and she really and truly is passionate about what she does. I like her younger daughter who seems to be following in her mom's footsteps. This show can really make me teary-eyed, and that's not that easy to do.

She's moved her base of operations from Cali to New Orleans. She still hires parolees, bless her heart. I haven't seen too many shows which focus a lot on the individual guys, but that's not a bad thing. She rescues a lot of dogs, and they never seem to give up on any animal, taking them to the vet if necessary and making sure they go to good, appropriate homes.

It's really all about the dogs, and has made me much more aware of what the pit bull breed is really like. I think they get a bad rap. Tia and her crew (which includes her kids) will travel by van to states far away to save these animals or to take them to their hopeful "forever homes".

I just can't help but admire this woman and what she does. She's pretty amazing, and this show is a refreshing change from the usual spoiled, petty housewives fare which I sadly am addicted to. It reminds me that there are still really good people left in this crazy world.

[candor]

This show has really blossomed. Last night's episode was one of the best. The rehabilitation of that poor, skeletal pit bull was amazing. What an adorable dog, with its little flying nun ears and worry eyebrows. I'd have snatched him up in a minute if I could have.

pitty.png

I'd also snatch up that cute sheriff, who seems like a genuinely caring man. It's interesting to see how Tia is bonding with him, given her distrust of cops. And what about Chong's recovering from cancer? Did the vet explain what the tumor was, then?

Anyway, Pit Boss could learn a few things about how to film an animal-rescue operation without faking everything. I'm sure that a lot of show is staged -- it's hard to find a reality show that isn't these days -- but enough of it is authentic enough to keep watching.

[Debb70]

I'm glad someone started a thread on this show. I have watched it from day one.

I enjoy the show, but have a lot of questions about it.

I wish Tia would stop defending criminal behavior and siding with parolees that screw up. I think she's slowly changing. She now admits that parolees aren't perfect. She has shown some issues she's had with them on the show. And she has resorted to hiring employees who aren't parolees.

One question I have is why it seems that almost every dog they try to adopt out, isn't leash trained. That means the dog is not being walked, but staying in that small cage for long periods of time. That bothers me.

I wondered if the deputy sheriff might be interested in Tia too. He seemed like a catch if he isn't married. Of course, Tia is, so she might not consider it. She recently talked about how much longer her husband has to stay in prison. I think he got another 15 years and that was a couple of years ago. The problem is that he is a career criminal and unlikely to ever make it out of prison. I wish more for Tia. She has a good heart.

[momrek06]

I used to watch this show all the time.

I did not realize it was back on.

I thought what TIA was doing was amazing.

So she has LEFT California?

Is her DH still in prison?

How are her daughters doing? One was really becoming interested in the dogs.

[Debb70]

Update.

Remember that Tia was moving the rescue up to a new location in CA? However, after they had set up there, they were met with local legal issues. THey did not do the things they had to do to get official permission. The residents near the new location were up in arms. I kind of understand, because they were faced with all those dogs living close by. The smell, noise, risk, etc. I get it. The county held hearings and Tia could not do everything they needed to do. PLUS, Tia has said on the show that CA changed the law and you had to have a kennel license if you kept more than 5 dogs and it MUST be OUTSIDE. I guess they are trying to expose puppy mills. Anyway, she said they couldn't comply. She then made the decision to leave the rules of CA. They decided to move to New Orleans.

The location in New Orleans is odd, IMO. They are near a flood zone, right on the river. And it's in a warehouse. She wanted all the dogs inside. I don't understand this. To me it's more cruel to keep a dog inside for it's entire life, than outside, as long as it has shelter and food.

You can tell that most of those dogs are not being walked by the way they pull and aren't familiar with a leash. That's sad.

Tia revealed on the show that her husband made a deal and got 15 years for his parol violation. He could have gotten life. So, he will be in there for at least another 10 years. Tia doesn't realize that he is not likely to ever stay out of prison. She should move on.

Tia's daughers work with her in the rescue. I recently heard that one is engaged. I don't have a link for it. THe twin sons work there too.

Tia has a good cooperation with law enforcement in New Orleans. She seems to be slowly changing her fear and dislike for them. They are working together against those who abuse pit bulls.

Tia must be doing well. THey seem to have many new vehicles and money doesn't seem to be much of problem.

[momrek06]

THANKS, Debb for the UPDATE.

[candor]

You can tell that most of those dogs are not being walked by the way they pull and aren't familiar with a leash. That's sad.

I'm sure they're not walked as much as if they were a house pet, but part of this is breed. My sister's pit bull was a puller at first, although I think she finally trained it out of her. Jack Russells are pullers, and after nine years I never was able to get my Jack to stop straining at the leash. Most dogs are trainable, but some just require a lot more one-on-one to overcome their natural traits. I learned this after I got a docile mutt who learned how to walk on a leash on the first day and hasn't pulled since.

[causingchaos]

Not the biggest fan of the show as sometimes I think it borders on hoarding and I'm not a fan of animals being kenneled all the time like that (though that doesn't differ at all from most animal shelters).

But in defense of the pulling they don't have enough staff to train these dogs (most animal shelters don't have enough staff to train their dogs) and the staff she has isn't necessarily consistent or trained on how to train these dogs. Realistically she is getting dogs who are typically adult and have a bunch of behavioral issues already firmly in place from neglect or bad training beforehand and so on. I've rehabilitated and trained adult dogs with some of these issues well ingrained in them and it takes a lot of time and 1:1 time because there are usually co-occurring issues that need to be dealt with (pulls leash as well as dog aggressive for example). And at the end of the day these dogs spend a lot of time away from humans and locked in cages I would expect there to be some excitable pulling once they finally get out and get to see people and a new view (especially the dogs that are socialized to people).

Side note from a strength stand point and tenacity stand point this type of dog makes a most excellent weight pull dog.

[Debb70]

Tia says they get many volunteers in New Orleans. Apparently the show is so popular that many people show up with lots of time to help them out. She has featured some citizens who volunteer at the rescue 7 days per week! Plus, one of the girls adopted a dog too.

The twins fixed up an old house near a pond and moved there with a couple of the older dogs who have health issues. It's fixed up nice with a huge fence and an air conditioned dog house!

I learned a lot about leash training watching the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan. He says many dogs need some serious exercise everyday. (Maybe not toy breeds.) If those healthy, young, dogs are not getting exercised, then they are bound to pull and have too much energy to easily control.

I don't think they do walk them much, because just before a prospective adopter is coming to visit, they will say they need to work with the dog. Maybe they can't help it, but I guess I question the decision to keep a dog in an indoor kennel cage that is about 4 x 6 feet for years on end. With just an ocassional walk if someone comes to visit him, expecially if they are kept inside a warehouse. I just don't get it or see how that is a good option for the dog vs. being put down.

[causingchaos]

Tia says they get many volunteers in New Orleans. Apparently the show is so popular that many people show up with lots of time to help them out. She has featured some citizens who volunteer at the rescue 7 days per week! Plus, one of the girls adopted a dog too.

The twins fixed up an old house near a pond and moved there with a couple of the older dogs who have health issues. It's fixed up nice with a huge fence and an air conditioned dog house!

I learned a lot about leash training watching the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan. He says many dogs need some serious exercise everyday. (Maybe not toy breeds.) If those healthy, young, dogs are not getting exercised, then they are bound to pull and have too much energy to easily control.

I don't think they do walk them much, because just before a prospective adopter is coming to visit, they will say they need to work with the dog. Maybe they can't help it, but I guess I question the decision to keep a dog in an indoor kennel cage that is about 4 x 6 feet for years on end. With just an ocassional walk if someone comes to visit him, expecially if they are kept inside a warehouse. I just don't get it or see how that is a good option for the dog vs. being put down.

I personally find kenneling a dog like that to be really cruel. Especially with the stress that some of those dogs likely feel surrounded by other dogs. Not all of her dogs are dog or people friendly and she admits that. Those dogs get to feel extra stress day in and day out confronted by all that. So keeping them in a tiny cage like that surrounded by that.

I remember last time I watched the show when they were still in Cali and they were doing a head count of those dogs I was horrified too by how many were there. I know even at our amply staffed local shelter where the ratio of paid people to dogs is probably 1:2 (counting volunteers any day 3:2) that those dogs don't get substantial human bonding time or extensive walks. You do the best you can but it always bothered me about just how many dogs there were on that property versus how many people there are there.

Many small dogs are extremely high energy dogs and need to be walked too. I find a lot of people get terriers in particular and are shocked to death when they have this little wild creature tearing everything up. My neighbors are a good example of that. That dog gets out and it takes off running for miles because it spends all day cooped up in a little house. Just because a dog is small doesn't mean it doesn't need room to run or ample exercise.