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County Planning Commission denies permit for "Pit Bulls and Parolees"

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Updated: 3/11/2011 4:37 pm

The woman behind the hit Animal Planet show "Pit Bulls and Parolees" went before the Kern County Planning Commission Thursday night.

Tia Torres tried to convince skeptics that Tehachapi is a perfect place to run her rescue operation. The meeting lasted nearly three hours, with both sides offering impassioned arguments about whether Torres should be welcome in Tehachapi.

Torres is a top pit bull trainer. Her rescue operation, Villalobos Rescue, is located just outside Los Angeles. But, Torres wants to move it to Kern County.

"We're here to help. We're here to give dogs chances. We don't discriminate," Torres told the commission. 

Dozens of her supporters came to the meeting, wearing t-shirts that said "Racism is the Pits."

"This is a family that completely gives their life for the safety and well-being, not only of these animals, but the people around them," said one supporter.

"The Villalobos Rescue Center is just another in a long list that a few residents in Tehachapi target, to stop any kind of growth in this town," said another supporter.

But, the Kern County Planning Department said Torres' plans for the property would be detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the public. Some Tehachapi residents agreed and said the center would be unsafe for the mountain community.

"We live, we vacation there because we love nature. We love solitude. We want to hear the coyotes. We don't want to hear barking dogs. We don't want TV crews!" said one Tehachapi resident.

"I have lived there for over 20 years and I have never felt threatened. However, with this shelter next door, I do feel threatened and I will not feel very secure," said another resident.

After three hours of hearing from both sides, the Planning Commission denied the project. All of the commissioners spoke highly of the project, but said they needed more information. Torres can now appeal to the County Board of Supervisors.

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of KGET TV 17 - In the Spirit of the Golden Empire

VegasDr7117 - 12/12/2011 4:36 PM
0 Votes
Hey SloppySlim16 YOU ARE A DUMB F*CK!! Pitbulls are raised to be fight dogs thats why they attack more, you have a false faith cross stuck up your ass thats why you dont like Tia, and have nothing better to do with your useless life thats why you post 20 times on here. No one gives a s**t what you say and your stupidity entertains the hell out of me!! Go back to your gucci, prada and benz, all the stuff that doesnt matter, and when you lose everything and need saving yourself see if any of those shaddy judging friends you have, that are exactly like you, do anything to help. Hell is filled with shallow minded pieces of s**t like you. P.S.Go F*ck Yourself..HAHAHA

elizabeth2309 - 11/28/2011 4:48 PM
0 Votes
Here is the deal, Pit Bulls might have a bad rap, but the reason they do is becuase of people like Micheal Vick, who fights dogs. Pit bulls are the way they are according how to they are raised. I have had 4 pit bulls and they were all sweethearts. I raised them from puppies and they were all loving, Baby, Duke, Tiny and Whiny they all never once growled at anyone, they never bit anyone, they were loving dogs who laid in the bed with us at night, it all depends on how they are raised, I have had pit bulls growing up and I have a 2 year old and my dogs love my son, my son can ride on their back and if he gets near them they just lick him, when my son has been sick, my dogs lay beside him and whimper. IT all depends on what their human owners treat them, if you treat them to be loving and sweet and u are loving and sweet to them they will be loving in sweet, if you teach them to be mean and fight then they will be mean. So if you want to blame someone for the pit bulls that have bit people or have a bad dispostion blame us, blame the humans, becuase we are the ones who make them that way, it is the same for the smallest dog out there if u teach them to be mean and bite they will!! Get yalls heads out of yalls asses and realse that a long of crap that happens in this world and alot of reason why things are the way they are is becuase WE HUMANS MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

izzokdog - 11/25/2011 9:49 AM
0 Votes
seems that instead of having a meeting to see if you will want to allow this rescue dog center,that it should be about how you can help it. tia is trying to give those dogs a second chance in life and you selfish residents don`t want to hear the dogs bark and no tv camera`s around. but if there was something in for you, you would rush to get them there. you are forgetting the main thing, people created this sort of problem and now she has to fight city hall to help both sides and get it corrected. ANOHTER PART OF THIS SICK WORLD!!!!

murph56 - 11/13/2011 11:04 AM
1 Vote
Pit bull wouldn't need rescue if the dog fighers of Kern would stop breeding them, I know I do not know what I'm talking about, well I live next door to one of these find breeder here in the City of Bakersfied, of which he has no license to do so and yes from the way they treat these dogs you can tell they are fighting dogs when they march them around with heavy chains and you can hear them going at it all the time. So some people say then call someone, I have a number of time and no one shows but they call back or send me a letter informing me that they sent a letter to the breeder that they can not do this, so they just keep on doing it, next time the city does what? they send them a letter telling them they can not do this what a joke. Maybe we need to stop the breeding of a few group of people first.

Arikail - 11/12/2011 10:38 PM
0 Votes
I am ashamed to be a member of the human race when its people make a decision such as this. I may be young but I know what Tia is doing is one of the greatest things anyone has ever done for such a misunderstood species of dog, and for paroles. Few care to remember that Pit Bulls were originally bread to be “nannies” for people’s children, there are even photos of famous people as children with such a Pit nanny, that there are thousands more well behaved and friendly pit bulls than there are violent and vicious ones. Or that the only reason Pit bulls got their vicious reputation is because of people either breeding them badly or training them to fight brutally and to the death. It is much the same for paroles; most grow up in underprivileged homes or environments that later affects their lives in a negative way. This community claims that they wouldn’t feel safe if Villalobos moved in even though they provide an option for paroles to get off the street and be less likely to get into trouble; also if these people are on parole it means that the crime was relatively minor. What do these people think the paroles are going to do? Riot through the town and murder everyone in sight!? As for the dogs getting loose I think they would be more likely to go visit the other dogs instead of bothering the distant neighbors. I would be ashamed to be part of a community that basically stood up and said to future generations “yes we tell you that everyone deserves a second chance but we will not allow this rescue group even a first chance to offer a second chance in our town.” I have no love for uneducated biased people who refuse to change their minds even when faced with irrefutable proof that they are in the wrong. I myself have grown up with such a person as my father and I have found that atheist me would rather abandon my disbelief and burn in hell than be and do what he and this community are. “Woe to a world, Where mistakes lay forever. Nailed to a cross, Forever passed

Friendtoall - 11/12/2011 12:05 PM
0 Votes
All of you that are so callus and cruel, so undeniably bigoted and ignorant to the breed and what they have been through make me sick. Your inability to see the truth about the breed and the good that this shleter does is simply put horrid. You hatful bunch of bigots are so busy trying to keep people (and these misunderstood animals) down, dont you have anything better to do? WHy dont you do something productive like take a stand against the Kern County TWEAKERS and METH HOUSES instead of these dogs. They are well taken care of and they are never loose. Im an Agua Dulce resident and I wish Tia and her rescue were still here, at least we appreciate what they do and the good they promote through KNOWLEDGE not misinformation!! I'd be willing to bet your ALL if not MOST of you are so called Christians, isnt one of your comandments THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE?? YOU BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES!

LtNoGltyMnEscp - 3/26/2011 8:07 PM
2 Votes
Congratulations to Kern County, especially Tehachapi. I have found almost everything becomes public record after a court case is finished, or during public court proceedings. Turns out during the "raid" of 2007 at The "Rescue Center", one of the "twins" Tia touts on her show, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and burglary. He was later released of charges due to a technicality. Then there's AJ. Turns out he had been using the "Rescue Center" located in Agua Dulce, as a sort of hub for his year long crime spree, almost as long as he was out of prison, which spread from Santa Clarita to Palmdale. In the end, AJ took a deal for 15 years 8 months in prison for multiple convictions of theft, possession of stolen property, identity theft, a weapon in jail, and vandalism of the County court jail. Seems he was spared the 3 strikes law by pre-trial deals made by lawyers. According to reports, there was also a significant amount of herion discovered in AJ's property, which had not even filed on at all. During court proceedings from 2007 untill his conviction in 2010, AJ was represented by some of the best lawyers money could buy, including Peter Knecht, Dana Cole, and finally Colombo from San Diego. Seems the "non profit" people can use that 501 status any way they want. Be glad your planning commission saw it like it is.

sloppyslim16 - 3/24/2011 9:41 PM
1 Vote
OK, try this one http://www.dog-obedience-training-online.com/dog-bite-statistics-by-breed.html Independant study conducted between 1982-2006. Sorry, statistics don't lie. You'll notice that Pits account for twice as many bites as any other dog. Face the facts please.

DBOjoker - 3/23/2011 8:23 AM
0 Votes
I was wondering when someone was going to bring up Dogsbite.org. To Sloppyslim16: The founder, Ms. Lynn has a personal vendetta against ALL pit bull's. On the website, there is ONLY pit bull 'type' attacks and the ONLY source is from the media outlet. When confronted with another breed that has been in the news for a mauling or fatality, she will not post that article on her blog. Dogsbite is a joke and should be taken with a grain of sand. The website itself is NOT from expert's of dog behavior....rather a blog and commentors posting their feeling's about how 'vicious' the Pit Bull is. She preaches how dogsbite.org is a dog attack VICTIMS website and only members with the right credentials (i.e. pit bull haters) are the ONLY ones that can speak their opinions. All other's are thrown out. DogsBite.org is ran by an emotionally unstable woman that is a web designer. She has no professional training or courses in canine aggression. She is no more than an ordinary person that takes ALL pit bull attacks from the news and collects the data on a web blog.

justdannet - 3/15/2011 9:19 PM
0 Votes
I wish she would , so i can get help saving dogs and people that humans so easily throw away.
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