Shorty and his crew, doing what they do bestnote .
Pit Boss is a show on Animal Planet that aired from 2010 to 2013.This show stars Shorty Rossi, an ex-con little person who runs a Hollywood California talent organization called Shortywood with his equally little employees Ashley, Ron, and Sebastian. Along with managing talent, Shorty also runs Shorty's Rescue, which is an organization dedicated to rescuing pit bulls and lessening their reputation as a "vicious" breed.
Pit Boss provides examples of:
- Angry Guard Dog: Completely averted by Hercules, who doesn't have a mean bone in his body and is probably one of the most mellow dogs ever. For example:On his first day as a service animal, Hercules traveled by train. From the start, he acted as if he’d been doing this for years. Switching trains, Hercules encountered his first challenge. The train system had delays due to technical problems, which led to overcrowding. Hercules was completely surrounded. As he could do nothing, he sat still and slept the entire ride.
- Berserk Button: Claiming that all pit bulls are vicious around Shorty is a bad idea. One photographer who attempted to make Hercules look vicious in a shoot got both barrels when Shorty found out.
- And it probably goes without saying that you shouldn't abuse an animal in front of him or allude to the fact that you abuse one.
- In one episode, Shorty appears on a radio call-in show to promote his pit bull rescue organization. Needless to say, it wasn't long before someone called claiming he knew a guy that got attacked by a pit bull. Shorty was not pleased to say the least and managed to call the caller out on his lies (Turns out the caller had never met anyone who was attacked by a pit bull).
- Similarly, if you work for Shorty and wish to continue working for him, do not say that helping pit bulls is not part of your job or that you've got better things to do. Not only will you get the mother of all ass-chewings, but a pink slip to top it off.
- Do not poach Shorty's clients. Do not help someone else poach Shorty's clients.
- Big Friendly Dog: Shorty's own service dogs Hercules and Geisha. Many of the other pit bulls count, too.
- The Cameo: Lou Pizarro from Operation Repo makes an appearance in one episode.
- Miami Marlins pitcher Mark Buehrle and his wife appeared in the season 6 finale expressing his support for repealing a ban on pit bulls in Miami-Dade County.
- Clip Show: A special episode consisted of segments from previous episodes, with Shorty, Ashley, Ronald, and Sebastian talking about themselves and their co-workers.
- Crossover: Shorty and Hercules appeared on Puppy Bowl IX providing Reaction Shot cameos and commentary.
- Shorty also appeared on another Animal Planet series, America's Cutest Cat, as well as its sister series, America's Cutest Dog.
- Also the Operation Repo cameo.
- The Dandy: Ron is very concerned about his appearance.
- Dumb Blonde: Amanda, a girl hired on as a casting assistant who played the blonde stereotype practically to the hilt, trying to tell everyone what to do behind Shorty's back and refusing to participate in any of the grunt work. Finally came to a head in Las Vegas when Shorty had her watch Hercules while he took a call, Amanda's ineptitude resulting in her losing Hercules who ended up running out on-stage during a live performance and Shorty having to chase after him. When Shorty confronted Amanda she stated that dogs weren't part of her job. BIG mistake!
- Fedora of Asskicking: Shorty has an entire wall of fedoras in his office. Do not let his size full you.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Not surprising given the nature of the show.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Sebastian and Ronald, good friends and roommates until Sebastian moved out.
- Hollywood California: Where the show is set.
- Houseboat Hero: Shorty lived on one until he moved into a new apartment.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Shorty, despite his rougher aspects, is a genuinely nice guy underneath who tries to do right by people and the dogs.
- Little People Are Surreal: Not surprisingly, this trope is something of a Berserk Button for Ronald, who hates having to play characters like Oompa Loompas.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Ashley has a moment of this when she discovers that talent agent Sid Levin hired her specifically to help him steal Shorty's clients.
- No Indoor Voice: Shorty, particularly when calling the others into his office. Shorty himself even lampshades it during the Clip Show episode.
- Parental Abandonment: Ronald was left in a police station by his mother in Korea when he was 2 years old, and was eventually Happily Adopted by a family in the US.
- Parental Issues: Shorty has had this for a long time.
- Poor Communication Kills: The entire situation concerning Sebastian and his working extra jobs so he can buy hearing aids and get his dog certified as a service animal is built on this, coming to a head when Shorty found out about his working a gig behind his back and threw him out.
- There have been a couple of instances where Ashley, while booking a gig, neglects to ask important clarifying questions, leading to some nasty surprises when Seb and Ronald show up for the job. It usually involves them having to get naked on short notice.
- Precious Puppies: Naturally, given the subject matter.
- In the fourth season, a pitbull puppy named Athena becomes a regular fixture for several episodes as they try to find a forever home for her.
- Product Displacement: Done with a case of assorted beers and a giant bag of (very obvious) Pedigree dog food.
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Real Song Theme Tune: A hip-hop remix of Keith Mansfield's "Funky Fanfare" (as heard in those "feature presentation" bumpers in Kill Bill and Grindhouse) is used as the theme song. - Samaritan Syndrome: Shorty has a bit of this, and often gets chided for putting himself (and his staff) in harm's way, along with putting his health at risk since he has a family history of back problems that might leave him crippled if he doesn't take care of himself. This stretched the team to the breaking point when he tried taking on more dogs than they could reasonably take care of.
- Season Finale: The second season ended with Ron leaving a stakeout despite Shorty threatening to fire him, then Shorty winding up in the hospital after injuring himself during the chase.
- The third season ended with the Poor Communication Kills issue exploding and Sebastian leaving the team.
- Share the Male Pain: When trying to convince a pit bull's owner to have the dog neutered, the guy noticeably covers his groin with his hands.
- The fourth season has added more typical sixth rangers as they expand the crew.
- Smug Snake: Sid Levine, the talent agent who hires Ashley after she leaves Shortywood. Becomes most apparent when Shorty confronts him about using Ashley to poach his talent.
- Viva Las Vegas!: Season 3 had the Shortywood crew book a gig with the Chippendales in Las Vegas, with Ashley getting a last-minute stand-up comedy booking there as well thanks to Shorty. It's also revealed that Shorty used to work at a dog rescue there (which is also where he first met Hercules) before starting Shortywood.
- What the Hell, Hero?: When Shorty took in too many dogs at once and expected his crew to completely sacrifice all their time to take care of them, including sleeping on the floor in their office. Sebastian called him on this first, then stormed out when Shorty didn't get it. Ashley followed suit soon after.
