I think it's great. Caring for an animal can do wonders on people, thier attitudes, ability to heal and help keep thier priorities in order. Pit bulls are one of the most misunderstood breeds of dog there is and I think any pitbull rescue foundation and animal society that deals specially with pit bulls is wonderful, as many of them need a lot of help (but more importantly, people need to be educated more). Sounds to me like a win/win situation.

When my Dog were working Therapy Dogs with Therapy Dogs International, I found that they were able to REACH out very well and CONNECT with people who needed to be loved. Not all of the people, from little kids as young as 2 who had been removed from their parents care (or lack there of) to elders 85+ or those dying in a hospice situation, or recovering from Cancer or Cardio surgeries are in a happy or BALANCED state of mind. Their stress levels CAN BE high, resulting in unacceptable behaviors or attitudes that are not conversant to good health or active and positive living. What I saw was how the dogs could NON THREATENINGLY and with NO projected attitudes or expatiations create an opportunity to RELATE in positive ways with people no matter what sort of mood or attitude the people had. For someone in prison, this can be exceptionally beneficial. Let's face it, when someone commits a crime, it's likely that they already had problems. Their thoughts are not like the majority of us, they believed at the time that what they were about to do was a good idea...even though most of us would reject such an action, even if we had a momentary thought of doing such a thing. Generally inmates who qualify for such a program are NOT within the higher, more deadly crime groups, they are are NOT usually in prison for abusive crimes. They are more likely to be those to whom such a program could make a positive difference in teaching them more positive ways to THINK about themselves and about others and life around them. A dog has the ability to GIVE and expect very little back, while showing extreme gratitude for what it receives from US. This sets the person up for success, for realizing that when we give the opportunity exists to RECEIVE...love, acceptance, fun, increased self worth AND to make a positive difference in a living creature's life...it really is a huge potential WIN/WIN for both dog and human!

Well I may be biased as both my sister and I have dogs that we adopted from Villalobos. What Tia is doing is long overdue. She is rescuing dogs and people. The dogs help break down barriers with the parolees and the parolees are learning a trade and how to break the cycle of being imprisoned and in turn the parolees are giving these dogs the love and care that so many of them have never had and teaching the animals to trust humans again. All in all it is a win-win situation. All I can sai is why didn't someone think of this before! Kudos to Tia and everyone at Villalobos.