After 18 seasons of helping pit bulls find forever homes, Animal Planet‘s Pit Bulls and Parolees will end with Season 19, TV Insider can exclusively reveal. The Pit Bulls and Parolees final season announcement also comes with the trailer for the upcoming season, premiering Saturday, October 22 on Animal Planet. Check out the sweet pups and their parolee handlers in the Season 19 trailer, above.
For over 30 years, Tia Torres and her family have gone above and beyond to give a second chance at life to pit bulls at Villalobos Rescue Center, the largest Pit Bull rescue center in the U.S., while also offering parolees a new start as staff and volunteers. In Pit Bulls and Parolees Season 19, audiences will witness higher stakes as Tia and the Villalobos crew strive to give every dog an opportunity to find their forever home and a second chance at life. And while this may be the end of one chapter, the story of redemption and rescue continues for Tia and her Villalobos family in their never-ending battle to save man and man’s best friend.
In the season premiere, the Villalobos Rescue Center is tested as Hurricane Ida bears down on Louisiana, leaving Tia and the rest of the crew to race to move the rescue dogs to shelter from the intense storm. Viewers will also see Mariah take the reins for her first solo wolf-dog rescue named Dorothy from the streets of Louisiana, while Lizzy and Earl help a music-loving couple from Kentucky find their dream dog.
Additionally, the Season 19 premiere continues Animal Planet’s annual “You Watch, We Give” tradition, where for every viewer that tunes in to watch the October 22 episode, kicking off at 9/8c, Animal Planet will donate $1.00 to Villalobos Rescue Center up to the amount of $20,000. The funds will go toward food and shelter needs for rescued pit bulls.
Later this season, audiences will see Tia and daughter-in-law Lizzy answer a distress call from a shelter in Mississippi and take on eight hound dogs in desperate condition; the Villalobos team prep to welcome the public for a volunteer day as the new Villalobos Rescue Center location nears completion; daughter Mariah and her older brother Moe put their motorcycle passion to work by building a motorcycle sidecar in honor of her recently deceased dog, Tater, in order to give rides to older dogs at the rescue; and Apple, a senior dog who finally finds their forever home. Audiences will also witness Tia hire her first female parolee in Villalobos History to the team to see if she’ll be the right fit as a dog trainer and dog handler.
Pit Bulls and Parolees, Final Season Premiere, Saturday, October 22, 9/8c, Animal Planet