December 31, 2009
"I always liked them because the pit bull was short and stocky and didn’t take no for an answer, like me,” said Rossi.
At 14, his passion for pit bulls began and it’s obvious on his new Animal Planet show “Pit Boss,” it has not wavered.
As a little person, Rossi knows what it’s like to be unfairly judged and he thinks pit bulls are treated the same.
“Little people are not taken seriously in this world. People don’t realize that we’re mainly business owners, doctors, lawyers, etc. A lot of people who are not raised with little people or have never been around them, think they’re nothing but circus acts and so forth. So you get that misunderstanding and you’re not taken serious. It’s the same with pit bulls. And I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for being raised somewhat in the projects, going to prison and being around pit bulls. I’d be a totally different person. And I’m glad that I had those life experiences to be who I am today,” said Rossi, who spent 10 years in prison for gang-related activities.
In 2000, Rossi started Shortywood Productions, a talent management company for little people and in 2001 after rescuing a pit bull named Geisha, he formed Shorty’s Rescue.
Geisha, now nine, is one of Rossi’s pet pit bulls that are featured prominently in the show. Also integral are Ashley, Sebastian and Ronald, the little people who work in the office at Shortywood and who help with the pit bull rescues.
“The people who work for me have no choice but to be around my pit bulls, because they go everywhere with us. It’s part of my daily activities. We’re doing a job in entertainment and I’m on the phone talking about rescuing a pit bull,” he said. “If you don’t want to deal with my dogs, you don’t work for me.”
“No matter where I’m at with my work on the entertainment side, every day I’m working with pit bulls. When I wake up in the morning I’m waking up to pit bulls. I have to work at entertainment to afford my pit bull rescue so they work hand in hand. Shorty’s Rescue is totally funded by Shortywood productions.
Rossi’s dedication to these dogs is very real as shown in the premiere episode when he is called to rescue a stray pit bull in the projects.
The rescue goes well but when he tries to return the dog to its owner, a confrontation ensues.
“I’m not going to let anyone take advantage of me and I’m going to stand up for what I believe in and whether it’s the insane idea of standing in front of some six-foot guy that’s probably been in prison, too and could throw me who knows where I’m not going to stand down. You could be five-foot-one or you could be six-four, I’m going to treat you the same,” he said.
Also in episode one, Ronald has the unenviable task of teaching Geisha to stand on her hind legs for a calendar photo shoot. If Geisha does it right she could get the cover, but teaching this independent free spirited dog turns out to be a lot for Ronald to handle.
“[Geisha] really doesn’t listen to anyone but me, and sometimes she doesn’t listen to me so for Ronald to do what he did, which was kind of funny, was real good,” said Rossi. “[Ronald] doesn’t take things seriously and I needed to give him more responsibility because I’m always throwing it on Sebastian and at that time Ashley wasn’t ready for it.”
When Rossi showed up at the shoot, the pressure was definitely on Ronald.
“It made Ronald have no choice but to prove his point, because now that I’m there he can’t just say, she didn’t do it because of this,” he said.
Rossi knows his business combination is unique.
“Nowhere else in this world can you walk into somebody’s office and you’ve got four little people running around working and you’ve got anywhere from two to five pit bulls playing, sleeping or snoring and costumes flying everywhere. It’s different but it’s real life. This is what goes on in our world,” he said.
There are over 150 little people across the world that have contracts with Shortywood and whenever Rossi shows up for one of their gigs his pit bulls are always in tow.
“Where else would you walk in and say, ‘Oh look, there’s an elf and, oh wait, there’s a pit bull dressed as a reindeer’,” he said. “When you’ve got little people running around as crawfish at a crawfish festival [his dog] Hercules is dressed as a lobster just to be a little bit different.”
Even with all that Rossi does, he knows it will never be enough.
“I can’t save every pit bull. I can do my best but I can’t save every one,” he said. “People give us chances in this world and I’ve had a lot of chances. It’s my time to give back to the world.”
“Don’t believe the hype. Give these dogs a second chance,” he said. “I want to let the world know this is a very misunderstood breed and with proper training they’re the most loving dogs in the world.”
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