Everywhere in the world,
we can observe
and be touched
by acts of kindness.
People from all walks of
life, faiths, and cultures
extend themselves
beyond the call of duty
to help others
unconditionally.
Through their noble deeds,
humanity as a whole
is elevated.
To commend
virtuous actions and
encourage more people
to be inspired
by their examples,
Supreme Master
Ching Hai
has lovingly created
a series of awards,
including the Shining
World Leadership
Award, Shining World
Compassion Award,
Shining World Hero and
Heroine Awards, Shining
World Honesty Award,
Shining World Protection
Award, Shining World
Intelligence Award,
and Shining World
Inventor Award,
to recognize some
of the most exemplary,
generous, caring,
and courageous people
who walk amongst us.
Today’s program features
Pit Bull dog lovers
Tia Torres and Ben Arnold
of California, USA.
Ms. Torres operates
the largest rescue facility
for abandoned and abused
Pit Bulls in the US
called the Villalobos
Rescue Center, caring for
as many as 200 dogs
at a time,
runs Underdawgz,
a program in which
prison parolees care for
the animals, and
is the star of the popular
Animal Planet channel
show,
“Pitbulls and Parolees.”
One extremely cold
winter night Ms. Torres
noticed Ben Arnold,
then homeless, and
his two beloved
Pit Bull mix friends in
the town of Tehachapi,
California.
I stopped at a gas station
last winter,
just north of here.
And it was a full-on
blizzard, snowing.
It was absolutely
freezing temperatures.
And I saw this guy with
a big, big backpack and
a sleeping bag, and he
was playing with his dogs
off to the side,
and you could tell
they were part Pit Bull,
it was pretty obvious.
And he looked homeless.
So I left, and came back
later that night to
get something, and
it was late, and by now
the snow was just
coming down.
And it was so cold,
I can’t even tell you how
cold it was, wind blowing,
and there he was.
This same guy,
he was now in front of
the building.
He was trying to
get underneath
the little overhang.
But he had his blanket
and sleeping bags
wrapped around his dogs.
And there he was just
sitting with his jacket,
just shaking.
And he was all dirty, and
the dogs, I could see their
little heads peeking out.
And I am watching from
the comfort of my car
and the heater going.
People just walking
past him, just walking
past him, not one person
said anything to him.
I thought, “How do you
not notice that?
How do you not see
this man trying to
keep his dogs warm?”
So I got out, and I just
asked him who he was
and his dogs’ names.
And he was a nice,
friendly guy, and
he told me his story.
He said that he was
originally from Kentucky
(USA), and he’d had
some problems at home,
and he had to leave.
He had nowhere else
to go, and he had made
his way across country
to California.
As she has done
countless other times
in her life,
Ms. Torres decided to
help the young man
and his Pit Bull mix
companions,
Nina and Angel.
And I said, “Well,
I’m not leaving you here.”
So I went down to a hotel
and asked if they could
have dogs there, and
came back, got him and
took him to this hotel.
And I didn’t really know
what I was going to do
with him, and they
kept him in the hotel
for a couple of weeks.
The word got out.
We started asking for
help because the hotel
was getting really costly,
and people started
donating a little bit of
money here and there to
pay for him
for another night
at the hotel,
for another pizza, bought
him some clean clothes,
and stuff for his dogs.
He said he wanted to
go back to Kentucky, and
so we raised a little bit
of money and drove him
back to Kentucky.
Mr. Arnold is very
grateful for Tia Torres’
warmhearted assistance,
and believes that through
generous and kind people
such as her, God is
always taking care of him.
Today he lives in
a motorhome that
Ms. Torres gave him.
I've been through
some tough situations
traveling, but
I've never gone hungry.
In situations like
when I met Tia,
He didn't let me starve.
He didn't let me
freeze to death.
I've got all my fingers
and toes.
You just have to ask
the right questions
and you have to have
the right intentions.
You put out positive,
positive comes back.
Pit Bulls are very gentle
and completely devoted
to their caregivers.
But many people misuse
this loyalty and
train them to be
aggressive towards
other people or to
participate in dog fights.
However, Tia Torres
knows from her own
experience that
these dogs can be
readily rehabilitated.
The retraining process
should be fairly quick,
especially with
the animal aggression.
We get a lot of
former fighting dogs.
There’re cupcakes.
We have a 100% success
rate, let’s put it that way,
with rehabilitating
fighting dogs.
And they are
in great homes and doing
wonderful things now.
So it’s a very good
success rate.
Animal shelters often
have a challenging time
finding homes for
Pit Bulls, because people
often mistakenly believe
that the dogs must have
been taught to be violent
before being placed
in the shelter.
The majority of Pit Bulls
you see in the shelter
are strays.
They are just
homeless dogs.
They’ve done nothing wrong.
They’ve not committed
a crime. They don’t
have any issues.
They are just homeless.
The thing too is that
people see the way
they look,
and assume the worst.
Not content with simply
rescuing Pit Bulls,
Ms. Torres decided
she wanted to help society
in other ways, so
in 2006 she founded the
Underdawgz program,
pairing up
prison parolees with
rescued dogs, as a way
for both the humans
and animals to be
successfully re-integrated
into society.
This unique program has
earned Tia Torres many
accolades, and eventually
led to the popular
reality TV series
“Pitbulls and Parolees.”
How did the series begin?
It started in 2007.
Los Angeles voted us
one of their 10
most important people.
And they did a story
on us in a magazine.
And production companies
started approaching us.
“Have you ever thought
about a reality show?”
And I’m like, “No, no.”
Guys coming out of
prison who were having
a hard time getting work,
having a hard time
re-integrating back into
society, come work here.
And the thing is the dogs
don't know that they’ve
just come out of prison.
The dogs don't know
what tattoos are.
So these men
have nothing to explain
or prove.
The dogs are just the dogs.
The dogs love them.
They land here,
and they slowly start to
find their way back
into the free world.
For her altruistic spirit
and efforts,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
honored Tia Torres
with the Shining World
Compassion Award and
provided US$10,000 for her
rescue mission facility.
Supreme Master
Ching Hai
also gifted US$3,000
to Ben Arnold and
his dog companions,
to help out with
love, love, and love.
Our Association
members visited
Ms. Torres and
Mr. Arnold to present
the prestigious Award
and gifts on
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
behalf.
Ms. Torres was given
a beautifully framed,
personal letter from
Supreme Master Ching Hai,
the following
of which is an excerpt.
Dear Ms. Torres,
It gives us
the very greatest pleasure
to present to you
the “Shining World
Compassion Award.”
This Award is given
in recognition of
your kind empathy
towards both human and
canine underdawgz.
Your outstanding work
in providing safety and
a new life for pit bulls
and parolees as well as
your selfless spirit of
service is expanding
the amount of beauty
and goodness on Earth
and for this,
we are most grateful.
The way you offered
your generous assistance
to Ben and his two
pit bull mix canine
friends Angel and Nina,
is just one example of the
kindness in your heart.
For selflessly working to
reveal the noble qualities
of pit bulls and parolees,
for your strength in
holding on to your vision,
for your wisdom,
creativity and
kind-hearted generosity,
and for using the gift
of your life in such
a remarkably useful
and beneficial way,
we hereby applaud
and celebrate the
compassionate deeds of
Ms. Tia Maria Torres.
With Great Honor, Love
and Blessing,
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
Oh, my God, I’m lost.
I’m very rarely lost
for words, but I am.
This is great.
This means a lot.
Her words get to me.
Ms. Torres then received
her magnificent crystal
Award plaque and
a check for US$10,000
for the Rescue Center.
She was also given
a number of
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
CDs, DVDs, and books
including the #1
international bestsellers
“The Birds In My Life,”
“The Dogs In My Life,”
and “The Noble Wilds.”
Oh, wow!
I love this.
I absolutely love this.
Thank you so much,
oh, my God,
thank so much, wow!
This is one of
the coolest things that
has ever happened.
This is great!
This is gorgeous. Wow!
Ms. Torres conveyed
the following thoughts
about
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
I feel like the woman is
the strength behind
a lot of what we do here.
I raised my kids
as a single mother, and
I’ve raised my daughters
to be strong, and this
proves that once again
there is another strong
woman out there
in this universe that’s
doing some good things,
and I’m speechless.
I’m taken aback that
you noticed our little old
“Ben story” and I’m just
touched that you saw
the good in him like I did.
I don't think what I did
was an act of heroism.
I think I did what
should have been done.
So I thank you
for believing in him and
wanting to help him
like I did.
Our thanks go to you,
Tia Torres, as well as
to your family, the staff
at the Villalobos Rescue
Center, and to you,
gentle Ben Arnold,
for your kindness
to all beings.
Your lives are
shining examples of
love in action, and
models for us all.
May Heaven bless you
and all your Pit Bull
friends, and grant you
great success in all your
future, noble endeavors.
For more information
on the Villalobos
Rescue Center,
please visit www.VRCPitbull.net
Find out more about
the “Pit Bulls and
Parolees” TV series at
www.Animal.Discovery.com/tv/pitbulls-and-parolees
Gentle viewers,
thank you for watching
this edition of
the Shining World
Award series.
May all the world’s
animals and humans
enjoy enteral lives of
dignity and freedom.