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Animal Planet
Earl Moffett and Tia Torres of 'Pit Bulls and Parolees.'
(Animal Planet)
The core value of Animal Planet's "Pit Bulls and Parolees" is redemption for both entities in the title, and New Orleans nativeEarl Moffett is its walking, talking, dog-loving embodiment. Season seven of the New Orleans-shot docu-reality series launches at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 19) with back-to-back episodes - the first a look back at the Villalobos Rescue Center's journey so far, the second (titled "New Frontiers") shows Villalobos' expansion into Assumption Parish.
A convict as a teenager and a later repeat offender, Moffett now has a Facebook fan page with more than 70,000 "likes."
Here are five or so other things to know about Moffett:
His life changed one day when his parole officer asked him if he was afraid of dogs.
His job at the time was cleaning up Mardi Gras parade floats.
"Afraid of dogs? What kind of question is that?" Moffett said he said. "You should ask me if I'm ready to come in and take a pee test or something! I'm like, 'No, I'm not afraid of dogs.'"
Ten other parolees were auditioned with Moffett for a role on the show and a position at the 9th Ward Villalobos Rescue Center, headquarters for Tia Torres and her team since their 2011 move to Louisiana from California. He was the only one passed through to the show.
Accordingly, "I felt like this was my calling and a blessing," he said. "And I don't take it for granted."
Because of his role on the show, Moffett's job also now includes interacting with TV fans.
Of which there are many. The show averaged 1.1 million viewers during its past season, according to the network.
"I'm to the point now where I feel like stopping and talking and taking some pictures are some of the things I'm supposed to do," he said. "I have a lot of supporters, people who want to see me do good, people who want me to succeed.
"That kind of helps me deal with the people, when it comes to totally strange people. I give love back because I feel like I'm getting a lot of love.
"Some aspects of it are real fun for me. You get to meet a lot of different people, people from different walks of life. If it wasn't for the show, I probably wouldn't be exposed to a lot of different people like I am today. But I'm a people person, so it makes it real easy for me.
"At the facility, I do tours, I answer questions, I give people knowledge of the dogs. It's pretty good for me. I'm regular, I'd say, with it.
"I'm not an actor. Every time they see me, no matter what I'm doing - laughing, talking, having fun, dancing, joking - this is me on an everyday basis."
Moffett is the first to admit that his appearance doesn't say "I'm a people person."
"I may look mean, look tough," he said. "Big Teddy bear, you know what I'm saying? I'm a cream puff."
Never more so than when he's working with Villalobos rescue dogs - or rescue parolees.
"I don't care how I feel in the morning, I always manage to get up and feed these dogs, because I know these dogs depend on me," he said. "It's a good feeling to see your work after you feed them, and get them cleaned up with fresh water, and situated. You're able to walk around and be like, 'Yeah.' I love what I do.
"Miss Tia's not the type of person to stand over you while you work. She passes on the instructions and she expects it to get done. A lot of guys get there and go to taking the job for granted. As employees, we're not going to let you do that.
"We will not let you lay on our leg. We will not let you talk bad to these dogs. We will not let you handle these dogs bad, period."
At the same time, Moffett offers his fellow parolees -- and audiences who book him for a motivational speaking engagement -- a living lesson in how to flip a life.
"Because I know it's possible. I'm living proof of it," he said. "I was always one to look for trouble, in and out of jail, doing drugs, Now, my life has totally taken a 180. I think it's for the best.
"I've experienced that side of the street -- the crime, the drugs. Now it's time for me to walk on this side. I think it took me longer than a lot of other people to catch on, but I did. This is the benefit.
"I always was one to take from others. Never cared about how you felt, how he felt. Always selfish. Being a part of this program, being around a lot of loving people, a lot of supportive people, broke barriers down for me.
"I want to thank Miss Tia so much for giving me this second chance. The city of New Orleans is the city of second chances. I'm just glad she was the one to take that risk on me."
Further reading about "Pit Bulls and Parolees:"
The relocation story.
Villalobos meets Hurricane Isaac.
Meet parolee Matt Eldridge.
The season-six "Aftershow" story.
Got a TV question? Contact Dave Walker at dwalker@nola.com or 504.826.3429. Read more TV coverage at NOLA.com/tv. He's @DaveWalkerTV on Twitter, and Dave Walker TV on Facebook.
