"Pitbulls And Parolees" is a reality show that follows Tia Torres, her children, and their recently paroled employees at their dog rescue, Villalobos. Located currently in New Orleans, Louisana, all of the people at Villalobos answer rescue calls to save dogs (particularly pitbulls) from abuse or neglect. They also train and work with the rescued dogs to find them "forever homes" with dog lovers across the country. This account chronicles the intentional or accidental addiction as a result of the drama and high stakes nature of the show.
Stage 1: The Discovery
It’s a lazy Saturday morning during winter break, and you plop down unashamedly in your Wonder Woman onesie and pick up the remote.
Torn between re-runs of shows like Say Yes to the Dress and Friends, you decide to start flipping through the channels and all of a sudden you see… Pitbulls? Some crazy red-headed lady is crouching down near an emaciated pitbull while tossing it treats. Your heart races as she gets closer to the sickly dog, and you think this dog is totally going to bite this chick. And then BAM! One second later she has the dog on a leash and its giving her kisses. Who is this miracle dog handler, and how come she did not have to make weird noises at it like Cesar Millan?!?
You’ve hit the 10 a.m. jackpot, and you click info to find out the name of your new found addiction, Pitbulls and Parolees. What could get more exciting to a college student living in the suburbs than dogs and people with a bad reputation? NOTHING. Absolutely nothing.
Stage 2: The Hook
After you see the most thrilling and scary rescue of your life followed by an emotional adoption of a Hurricane Katrina dog, you are officially hooked. And GUESS WHAT? Your T.V. Guide tells you Animal Planet is having an all-day marathon in time for its new episode premiere at 9pm! You make sure to text all your friends that your parents have you on family time lock down and get ready to snuggle in for a fantastic Saturday. By 5 p.m., your entire family is camped out in the living room drinking coffee and tea calling out which dog is going to get adopted by the chosen family of the week.
When the new episode comes on, you already know a few things: 1) Tia Torres is an animal rights’ rock star, and 2) you have a new (or stronger) love for the Pitbull breed.
Stage 3: The Frenzy
It’s been two days since you first stumbled across Tia and her kick ass family of dog rescuers. You’ve watched all the episodes available via On Demand and have managed to find a few free episodes online. Then you are cut off. How can they leave you hanging? You needed to know how Villalobos moved from Los Angeles to New Orleans, like yesterday.
At this point, you have Googled everything you could about the show. You know Tia grew up with horses and trained wolves. You keep crying when parolees get their dog tags. You have officially been proven wrong about people and Pitbulls. You are the new crusader for happy endings and second chances. The decision has been made. You must see it all.
Stage 4: Rock Bottom
After scouring through Netflix, double and triple checking that you have not misspelled Pitbulls or parolees, you have hit a new low. The only logical option is to log in to (or create) an Amazon account. You order one episode and then another, telling yourself that this season finale will be the absolute last one. You start calculating how much of your holiday cash stash you are willing to spend. Twenty $1.99s later, you are the happiest you’ve ever been.
Who needs Starbucks when you can get the energy from the emotional roller coaster that is dog rescuing? You start asking yourself, “When is spring break, and how much money do I need to get to New Orleans?”
After you have seen every episode, it is time to relish in the after-glow of your epic T.V. journey. Now re-runs are a must see, and Animal Planet becomes one of your go-to channel surf destinations. All that’s left to say is… “What’s the college’s policy on dogs again?”
