Tia Maria Torres

Misunderstood Men and Unwanted Dogs Redeem Each Other In Return Of Animal Planet’s Pit Bulls & Parolees www.vrcpitbulls.com

— Tough-As-Nails Yet Compassionate Tia Torres Builds a Community at the Villalobos Rescue Center in Second Season of Successful and Gritty DocuDrama —

(New York, New York) Tia Torres has a tough life marriage to a convict, single mother to two daughters and adopted twin sons, and driving force behind a facility for unwanted pit bulls run by parolees Most recently, she witnessed a huge wildfire threaten her beloved Villalobos Rescue Center endangering her and her staff, hundreds of animals and the only property that has been her home for more than a decade.

This fall, when the 11-episode second season of Animal Planets PIT BULLS & PAROLEES returns on Saturday, October 30 at 10 PM (ET/PT), the drama at Villalobos has intensified. A ring of the phone brings news of a pit bull sentenced to death in a law suit with national notoriety. A parolee with a violent past is reunited with his family through his caring and gentle work with one of Tias dogs. Mother and daughter find themselves at odds over doing what is right and doing what is legal. The already-packed shelter finds room to give a stray a second chance at the urging of a parolee desperate for the same. These stories that viewers will connect with are all in a days work at Villalobos Rescue Center for Tia Torresand she wouldnt have it any other way.

For Torres, the owner of Villalobos, the largest pit bull rescue center in the U.S., a deep commitment to second chances is the driving force behind her 10-acre sanctuary near Los Angeles, where outcast pit bulls receive the rehabilitation they need to move on to loving homes, and the Underdawgz program provides parolees with a job, a home of their own and a fresh start. Villalobos is the sanctuary and backdrop to all of the action that goes down on PIT BULLS & PAROLEES.

Tia is a force of nature a resilient and powerful mother and business woman when it comes to handling her family, her pit bulls and the parolees who work for her, said Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet Media. Her complex relationships with all of them and the depth of her compassion make for a dramatic, appealing and surprisingly human second season.
The new season takes a deeper look into Villalobos Rescue and the manner in which Tia runs the center and the Underdawgz program, while raising twin sons Kanani and KeliI and daughters Tania and Mariah, who look to take a more active role in the center. In addition, season two dives into pasts of key the members of the Underdawgz like Jake and Armando and their current struggles as they fight for the pit bulls and themselves to convert their notorious reputations.

Some of the parolees arrive at Villalobos with a tough exterior and a troubled past, says Torres. But through their working with the pit bulls they are able to make a change in their lives and that rubs off for the better on the dogs.

PIT BULLS & PAROLEES is a production of 44 Blue for Animal Planet. Rasha Drachkovitch is the executive producer for 44 Blue, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Marc Etkind is the vice president of development for Animal Planet.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world’s only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 97 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.

About the Villalobos Rescue Center
The Villalobos Rescue Center is a rescue, rehabilitation and placement facility for abused and abandoned Pit Bulls.

VRC works ceaselessly to give Pit Bulls another chance in life. Each and EVERY dog taken in, gets spayed or neutered, and given any medical treatment necessary. We work patiently to reacclimatize fearful dogs to the loving care of a human, so that they may eventually be adopted. In some cases, these dogs have never had a kind word or touch, and it is a slow process. After determining temperaments and compatibility factors, we begin that long search for the perfect home.

The placement process is extremely slow. Unfortunately Pit Bulls are their own worst enemy – their loyalty and devotion make them the perfect victim. Have we already forgotten about Petey? He was the loyal ring eyed dog of the Lil Rascals. Yes, Petey was a Pit Bull! You see the dogs themselves haven’t changed – we have!

We’ve turned these All American Family dogs into the killing machines of the ’90’s. It is our responsibility to turn this around. We owe it to them. After all, aren’t they man’s best friend?

On any given day, VRC has between 150-200 Pit Bulls here at our 10 acre facility. As you can imagine, the costs for running an operation of this magnitude are overwhelming. Our monthly operating expenses have now increased to $15,000.00 and our vet bills stay at an average of $15,000.00

Here nestled in the hills of the high desert, those who have suffered in silence will never hear another gun shot or the siren of a pursuing police car. Every night they will fall asleep to the yipping of coyotes and the soothing hoot of the owl. They are safe and content. The only thing missing is a home of their own. Please help us to help them.

Villalobos Rescue Center
P.O. Box 1544
Canyon Country, CA 91386
Tia Maria Torres