Tia Torres of Animal Planet's Pit Bull and Parolees has her own victory dog, and it's human aggressive!
I'm not a regular viewer of Pit Bulls and Parolees, so I didn't catch Otis the pit bull's episode until it was replayed right before Thanksgiving. Craven Desires blogged about human aggressive Otis and his owner the exceedingly weird, selfish, lying Daniel Coverston already.
His four frankenmaulers dug under his fence which abuts a parking lot where they went on a completely unprovoked rampage. Their first potential victim escaped to the safety of his car, but the second victim, a 17 year old boy, was knocked down twice and severely mauled before two rescuers, armed with a wrench, beat the dogs off long enough to get the victim into a car. One of the four frankenmaulers, Sherman, continued to attack the car. The boy ended up with a total of 30 stitches, 20 puncture wounds. One bite barely missed the boy's brachial artery and a wound on his leg exposed bone.
Victim's partially healed wounds
The selfish, lying Daniel Coverton fought the court's ruling to euthanize the dogs and called in Tia Torres of Pit Bulls and Parolees fame to help him save his human aggressive pit bulls. She JUMPED ON THE CHANCE to magically rehabilitate the FOUR HUMAN AGGRESSIVE MUTANTS (oh yes, she was going for all four initially) thus using her TVshow as a platform to educate the mindless pit loving masses that no matter how aggressive and vicious a pit bull is TOWARD OTHER PEOPLE, it deserves a second chance to maul again, unless, of course it attacks you, the nutter, in which case all bets are off.
Tia Torres thinks Daniel Coverston is "nice" "quiet and just gentle"
But, rescuing four human aggressive dogs with blood on their paws to help a selfish, lying, psychopathic owner doesn't seem to be the makings for broad audience appeal. So, the producers likely decided to tweak it a bit, and make it seem that Tia was willing to take one of the dogs only because there was an indication he was submissive and only because that dog did not participate in the attack. And the selfish, lying, psychophatic, irresponsible Daniel Coverston had to be turned into a nice guy who was victimized by the media exploiting a "horrible accident."
What follows is a transcript of portions of the Otis episode of Pit Bulls and Parolees with links to news accounts to expose the enormity of the many twisted lies.
[on the phone]
Lawyer: This is Dean Starks. I'm a lawyer and I've got a case where some dogs got out of my client's yard and attacked a young man.
[snip]
Tia: My first reaction when I hear that a pit bull has attacked a child, if he's a dangerous dog obviously he needs to be put down. He's not safe. He shouldn't be out in public. You know, I'm a mother first and a dog owner second.
Tia was willing to evaluate all four dogs and possibly take any or all four dogs, knowing some or all had attacked, mauled and nearly killed the 17 year old child. "I expected to go in there and say, 'Yeah, let's take them all.' Torres said."
Lawyer: We've got evidence one of the dogs, named Otis, didn't actually bite him. I've talked to the witness, a young man named Wade Andrews. And he's basically the hero that jumped into the middle of this thing and saved the young man that was being attacked.
[snip]
The witness did not arrive until after the victim had been knocked down a second time. The victim, of course, did not know which dogs bit him. The second judge said "there was circumstantial evidence that all four dogs took Kerschner down to the ground and it's more likely than not that Otis was involved in the attack and some biting"
Lawyer: That dog should be rescued and saved as opposed to being tagged as a vicious dog and destroyed.
Tia to camera: When I heard that Otis tucked his tail and ran, that told me he might be a submissive dog and there might be a chance for him.
Tia to Lawyer: Soo, uh, do you need me to come up there and meet the dogs...
Lawyer to Tia: Well, yeah.
Lawyer to camera: The ultimate verdict for the dogs was that three of them were to be euthanized by the city, but Otis deserved a chance to see if, if Tia could rehabilitate and retrain him.
At different times in the episode you will see that both the lawyer and Tia suggest that Otis deserves to be saved because there is proof he didn't participate in the attack and therefore is innocent (not human aggressive), at other times, both Tia and the lawyer talk in terms of Otis being "salvageable" (human aggressive but worthy of magical rehabilitation based on Tia's temperament test).
Lawyer to Tia: You know the problem is the court's probably not going to give the dog back to my client at this point. So, Otis' only chance may be actually be your place.
Tia: OK. So this is almost like, ah, you need me to evaluate them and then actually, ultimately take the dog.
Lawyer: That's true.
Tia to camera: You know, based on the phone conversation I had with the attorney, I just don't feel comfortable enough yet committing to taking Otis. At this point the only way for me to really know is to make that seven-hour drive, you know, up to Auburn and get the whole story, and possibly save an innocent dog's life.
[snip]
This whole interaction was fabricated for the show. Tia was asked to evaluate all four dogs in early January 2010 on behalf of Daniel Coverton. She testified as an expert witness at the second court hearing at the end of January, and picked Otis up in February.
Tia to camera: When I get involved in these stories where a pit bull has bitten someone or somebody I have to become like a CSI. I need to look at police reports, blogs, newspaper articles. I need to get the whole story so I know what's going on.
Tia to daughter, Tania: I printed up all these articles from that, um, pit bull case...God, there's like, SO many articles on these dogs...
She's suggesting that media hysteria has blown the story out of proportion. Except the media did not run wild. The first stories were from four local media outlets. The story might have died quickly had Daniel Coverston not decided to fight the court order to euthanize his dogs. But what really gave this story legs was the involvement of TIA TORRES. That's when UPI and, not surprisingly, Animal Planet picked it up.
Tia to the camera: Otis and the three other dogs he lived with were owned by a guy named Daniel Coverston. And from what I've read, they've made this guy out to be the beast, like he's trained these dogs to attack humans.
No news story ever suggested that Daniel Coverston trained the pits to attack humans. Only pit nutters, in the comments sections of these news stories, insist that if a pit bull mauls someone, it must have been trained to attack. This is SOP for nutters to vilify their own when the inevitable happens in order to defend the breed.
Tia to camera: Contrary to what a lot of rescuers and people think, not every dog can be saved. I mean there are such things as dangerous dogs. I don't know what to believe and I do have to take a step back, I mean it's innocent until proven guilty.
Tania: And where's Auburn?
Tia: its about 7 hours away. Its kind of a cute little town. Except, except now they have a witch hunt going on for pit bulls.
[Snip]
[at Auburn]
Tania: This place is amazing
Tia: Yeah, its like, its like lost in time
Tia: So when I first get to auburn, you know the first thing I notice...is what cute quaint little town. It was like out of a storybook and I thought, you know, how can anything so horrific happen here?
This is the beginning of Tia defining "stereotypical bad pit bull owner." Bad pit bull owners don't live in cute, storybook towns.
Tia: So when I pull up to the Coverston's house, you know, I had to double check. I had to look at my piece of paper and say, you know, is this the right address? Because this does not look like the house of killer dog owners. As I'm walking up to this door, you know, I'm actually nervous - and not much scares me.
Bad pit bull owners do not live in nice houses. The media hysteria is so wild and out of control, it has even scared pit bull lovin', felon marryin', parolee boss Tia.
[Ominous music as the door opens to a beautiful, old California style bungalow home with a fire going in the fireplace. Inside we see a sweet-looking, gray haired woman, and a thin, wan, boy/man that Tia could push over with her left pinky finger]
[snip]
Tia to camera: When I met Mrs. Coverston and Daniel, I just...I had to take a step back. You know, here was this woman and her son who was very quiet and just gentle.
"Stereotypical bad pit bull owners" are not quiet and gentle.
Tia to Coverstons: When I was asked to come here, I told the attorney this is a big mystery. I want to be able to figure this out. I have to ask, you know, about what happened.
Daniel: I was in Michigan
Tia: Ah, so you were far away?
Daniel: And my neighbor called me and told me that my dogs were loose and running around.
Tia: So they got, they dug out of the yard?
Daniel: I think they dug out of the yard.
Wow! That is the extent of the sleuthing to solve the mystery. Did you get a load of that hard hitting CSI interrogation there? Tia is COMPLETELY satisfied that Daniel and his mother were not at fault because he was "far away" and did not provide adequate supervision or containment for his dogs.
Tia: I read some of the comments in the media. I did get the feeling Otis definitely wasn't the one to start the whole mi...melee
Daniel: Otis, he's kinda shy. Very sweet. Very snuggly.
l to r
Maui who attacked an attendant and Tia Torres
Ronin the most aggressive, dominant and beloved
Sherman who persisted in the attack after the victim was in the car
Mrs. Coverston: It's the first time he's ever been separated from Dan, from me, from his brothers.
Tania to camera: If somebody tried to take my dog from me it would be a horrific day. Though, I can only imagine how sad it is for them to have Otis taken away.
Tia: Dogs follow other dogs. Just because he was there, doesn't mean anything.
Mrs Coverston: But the newspaper has been absolutely relentless. We have been portrayed as this monstrous family who's raising fighting dogs and aggressive dogs.
Tia: I don't see what everybody else is trying to portray you guys to be. This was just a horrible accident for everybody involved - everybody, the dogs, your family.
Mrs. Coverston: Its a sorrowful situation all the way around - for everybody included.
Tia: I'm glad at least one of 'em, umm, you know, can be saved. And I'm glad to hear that's how he was.
Mrs. Coverston: Hopefully you can work your magic.
Tia: The Coverston family did not meet the criteria for a stereotypical bad pit bull owner. I couldn't believe that this was the family that was being portrayed as nothing short of the Mansons.
This is what the whole set up has been about. Daniel is most assuredly not a ghetto dwelling, loud, fear inducing thug who specifically trained his dogs to attack people. No, Daniel is not the stereotypical bad pit bull owner that pit nutters blame as the sole source of the bad rap pit bulls get.
He lives in a storybook town, in a nice house, is gentle, and he has "the craziest bond" with his pits.
However, he is a despicably selfish, self-serving, lying, asshole whose response to the victim's ongoing physical and psychological trauma is, "I am very sorry for what happened." "I'm extremely glad he's OK." And I want my dogs back.
However, he is a despicably selfish, self-serving, lying, asshole whose response to the victim's ongoing physical and psychological trauma is, "I am very sorry for what happened." "I'm extremely glad he's OK." And I want my dogs back.
Here is a list of what Daniel Coverston, who Tia Torres has just judged "nice, quiet, and gentle" and "not a bad pit bull owner," did according to news reports:
3.Coverston failed to keep rabies vaccinations current. (see previous link)
4.Coverston failed to keep dog licenses current.
5.Coverston was aware of inadequate fencing and a broken gate and failed to correct these things which led to a boy being mauled.
6.Coverston lied to police and to the court saying that he administers fictitious "aggression shots" to his intact pit bulls.
9.Coverston tried to have his dogs moved to another facility in the hopes of circumventing the judge's decision and eventually getting his dogs back.
10.Coverston tried to withold paying the fines he owed the city unless they complied with his demand to give him his dog back.
Here is how the judge saw Tia Torres' responsible pit bull owner, Daniel Coverston:
"Judge Joseph O'Flaherty also banned owner Daniel Coverston from "owning, possessing, controlling or having custody of any dog for three years" in Placer County or Auburn.
The ruling issued on Thursday also found that Coverston was aware of the danger that the dogs posed and failed to protect the community from such an attack.
In his ruling, the judge said Coverston showed "no detectable emotion or remorse" in his testimony and was "clueless" to the danger he caused by not properly securing his animals."
Mrs. Coverston: After meeting Tia, I feel like there's hope. And I have felt like there has been no hope.
Tia: So after talking to the Coverstons for a little bit, you know I thought ok these are nice people. But, you know, I still have to base any decisions that I make after meeting Otis. If Otis does turn out to be aggressive and not salvageable, in my opinion, you know, I'm going to have to put a recommendation to the judge to have him euthanized.
[at animal control]
Tania: Wait so are you going in or are you bringing out.
Tia to Tania: You stay here, the city attorney is making me do this solo. Just go ahead and open everything up.
Tia: I'm starting to feel like I'm in a really bad movie, here. I'm in a small town with this demonic family who's actually really nice. And now at the animal shelter where they're being all hush-hush, you know, won't let in anybody but me. And now I'm starting to think, what the hell is goin' on here...
[recap after a break]
I'm at the animal shelter in Auburn to evaluate Otis, a pit bull, who was involved in in an attack on a teenage boy with three other dogs. Law enforcement took the dogs into custody and after two trials, three of the dogs were ordered euthanized. Otis had nothing to do with the attack, so his life will be spared IF I agree to take him to Villa Lobos.
[outside animal control]
Tia: ok you have to stay out here
Tania: alright
Tia: ...thanks to the city attorney
Tania: OK I'll do that
Tia: ...so i have to go in by myself
Tania: OK, well I'll be here.
Tania to camera: I was mad cuz I had to wait outside cuz I wanted to see how my mom handles dogs like that.
Tia: I'm going in rogue
Tia to camera: Every shelter has their rules and, you know what, I have to abide by them. they're not letting my daughter in the shelter or crew. Everything's kind of like hush hush. I'm not being allowed the freedoms that I need to really assess this dog. Its my decision whether he lives or dies.
Otis
Tia: Tania open the back
Tania: When I first saw otis, I mean, he was nothing, you know, what I thought
Tia: Otis reminded me of Bambi. He was this big doe eyed shy dog.
Tania: Come look, Come look buddy
Tania: He's like, i don't know
Tia: It was actually a huge relief. I mean, it told me that he was actually a follower, just a kind of a part of this pack of dogs.
Tania: I was really glad that Otis was as sweet as he was cuz he seems like a really cool dog. It's alright, bud!
Tia was REALLY upset that her camera crew couldn't go with her for the assessment. I mean, she could NOT let it go. Her daughter was cool, but TIA was having a fit! And she says she wasn't allowed the freedom to assess dogs because her camera crew couldn't go in and her daughter who just wanted to learn couldn't go with her. Why does she need a camera crew to assess the dogs?
This whole scene is bullshit, of course, because in reality, Tia assessed all four dogs in early January 2010 and didn't pick up Otis until February 2010.
Oh, and you know what? When she went to evaluate the four dogs, the camera crew went with her. In fact, one of the dogs, Maui, lunged at a cameraman. Based on Tia's description, I would LOVE to see this footage, but none of it was included in the episode.
"Torres’ encounter with the remaining three pitbulls, Maui, Sherman and Ronin, left her to conclude that they could not be saved.
Torres said she had already decided she would not take Sherman into the shelter because she was told he did not retreat from the attack.
She attempted to get close to Maui, who was constantly growling and puffing his lips in his cage, she wrote.
“The barking and ‘screeching’ was nonstop,” Torres wrote.
Torres said they tossed Maui a raw hot dog and then opened up the kennel door so he wouldn’t feel trapped.
“Maui then quickly bolted toward our cameraman and Megan quickly yet gently looped him,” Torres wrote.
Torres said she then tried to loop Maui with her leash but “he jumped up and bit my right hand.”
Torres said the dog then became frantic and it looked like he was going to bite another person. He continued to snap at Torres as they put him back in the kennel.
The other two dogs, Sherman and Ronin, “had become extremely aggressive acting, hitting the kennel gates and barking hysterically,” Torres said.
Torres ended her evaluation soon after."
And here is Tia Torres' expert evaluation of Otis.
In her report of her visit to Placer County’s animal shelter in Auburn, Torres that one dog, Otis, seems possible to rehabilitate.
She said Otis, while “very fearful,” allowed her to touch and examine various parts of his body, including his teeth and gums.
“Though he did not show any emotion one way or another toward me, I feel that there may be some hope for him to be rehabilitated,” Torres wrote.
In her report she suggested that she take Otis back to her center and see how he reacts to a home environment for the next two months.
It should be noted that the Otis had just had stomach surgery after he ate his bedding and he, along with his brothers, had been taking 20 tabs of tranquilizers a day for months in a fruitless effort to keep them from engaging in aggressive, anxious, and self-mutilating behavior, and Maui had attacked an attendant. Every morning, the attendants would find the dogs' enclosures covered in blood. The attendants noted that this behavior was unlike any other dog's they'd ever cared for, including other pit bulls.
All of this was not only documented, it was published information that Tia had available to her before her evaluation. For most people, all that documented bizarre and aggressive behavior would have been enough to make a judgment. But not for Tia. Although Maui had already attacked the boy and an attendant, Tia still decided to let Maui out of his cage allowing him to lunge at a cameraman and bite her hand.
Tia: You know, this story will forever have me stumped. I mean we have four dogs that were apparently raised in a very loving home and they got out and they attacked a kid. And we'll probably never know what happened in Auburn that day.
Tia is stumped. Me, I think I got it. The ratings are up, aren't they.
She took Otis home with a lot of provisions from the judge. Otis can't leave her ranch without a court order. After the episode was taped, she did an interview. An incredible interview:
"It seemed as though the pit bulls were well trained, but she thinks it will ultimately remain a mystery why the dogs lunged at and bit Kershner repeatedly.
"Everything pointed to a perfect dog so what happened? What aren't we knowing," Torres said. "Something is missing."
