What happened to Kanani on Pitbulls and Parolees?

Publish date: 2024-06-28

What really happened to Tia Torres’ son Kanani? Does Kanani from Pitbulls and Parolees have a kid?

Introduction

Animal Planet’s hit reality television show, Pitbulls and Parolees, has long been drawing fans in for feel good value and a little bit of family drama.

The emotional rollercoaster ride of the popular show is driven mainly by Tia Maria Torres—the owner of Villalobos Rescue Center in New Orleans.

After building up its reputation on the west coast of the US in California, the move to New Orleans turned out to be a great one for the center.

Tia grew her family on the west coast, too—raising all her children in California as she navigated the murky waters of animal regulation and the unfair targeting of pitbulls in the media.

When Tia packed up and headed down south to Louisiana, she took all her kids, their significant others, their animals, and their children with her.

This is the story of one of Tia’s children: Kanani Chock.

While fans of Pitbulls and Parolees around the world are asking what happened to Kanani on Pitbulls and Parolees, we’ve got the answer.

Read on to find out.

The Origin Story

Kanani Chock is Tia’s oldest son.

@Getty

Her first-born daughter, Tania, was followed by Mariah, and Mariah was followed by Tia’s adoption of twin sons Kanani and Keli’i.

Kanani was first out of the gate, so to speak, when the twins were born in Hawaii on April 20, 1987.

The pair had a rough start in life, and admitted themselves that they “lacked guidance in life.”

The pair befriended Mariah Torres after moving to California, where they had been sent to live with yet another in a long line of relatives.

As teenage boys with a lot of testosterone, very little guidance, and next to no discipline, Mariah dragged the boys along to work weekends at her family’s rescue center.

The odd weekend at the center became every weekend, and then some work around the kennels after school.

Before long, Kanani and Keli’I were at the center every day.

Their home life was not ideal, so Tia took the two under her wing.

Eventually, in a bid to provide the two with some stability and consistency in their life, she asked to adopt them.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Kanani and the Pitbulls and Parolees

@Getty

Kanani and his twin brother were absent from the first few seasons of Pitbulls and Parolees, as the pair hadn’t yet joined the family.

Once they did, Kanani quickly drew attention for his way with the more troublesome guests at the center.

His calm and confident demeanor made him a natural at training the dogs who found themselves at Villalobos.

He was gentle and kind, but had a firm grasp on control of every situation.

While his big sister Tania may have eventually eclipsed him as one of the stars of the show—especially with her storylines with long-term animal residents—Kanani wasn’t bothered in the slightest.

In fact, being out of the spotlight enabled him to build his bond with many of the dogs, and focus on his other passions—like his new girlfriend and motorcycles.

Love & Marriage – Are Kanani and Mariah still married?

Kanani Chock and his childhood sweetheart, Mariah Thompson, welcomed their first baby to the world—a son named Luke—on May 18, 2012.

Not a couple to rush things, they would finally tie the knot on September 28, 2018, in Napoleonville, Lousiana, a whopping 6 years after the birth of their son.

Two years later, Mariah—who the Torres family and the Pitbulls and Parolees cast lovingly refer to as M2—gave birth to their second child. The couple named their new daughter Leilana.

Kanani and M2 aren’t the only couples on the show to have settled down.

Mariah Torres married Marcel, although the marriage ended suddenly a short time later.

Tania, the eldest sister of the bunch, married Perry Sanchez in 2013.

What happened to Kanani Chock?

Life was good for the Torres / Chock family, despite a series of run-ins with the police following Kanani’s arrest in 2007 and his subsequent time on probation.

Chock’s secondary passion in life—after his family and rescue work, is motorcycle stunt work.

Kanani often posts footage of his latest street bike stunts on his social media channels—including some breathtaking flips and aerial work.

One such stunt landed Kanani in a hospital in critical condition in 2020.

The aftermath of the accident was shown in season 16, episode 4 of the long-running hit show, where Kanani is left fighting for his life.

Chock, who had pulled back from the show in recent years to focus on his stunt riding career, made a slow and steady recovery through 2020 and early 2021, and was up to his usual shenanigans alongside his family and friends by December of that year.

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