Shortywood Productions / Shorty's Rescue / Pit Boss Shorty Rossi

Shorty Rossi

Shorty, 35, grew up in two different worlds – one a middle/upper-class almost completely white suburban
neighborhood of Los Angeles with his dwarf parents and the other in Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects in
Watts, a section of South Central Los Angeles, where he lived with a family friend to avoid conflict at home. By the
age of 15, Shorty was living on his own.

When he was 18 years old, he was involved in a gang-related shooting and convicted of several felonies. He was
sent to a youth facility and later to Folsom State Prison to serve a total sentence of 10 years, 10 months and 10
days. While in prison, Shorty turned his life around, and by the time he was released, he was determined to make
something better out of his life.

Looking to make a fresh start, Shorty turned to entertainment jobs and soon learned he could earn lucrative gigs
as a little person. Shorty landed his first job in show business at Universal Studios Hollywood as "Alvin" for an Alvin
and the Chipmunks stage show. Since then, he has appeared in several commercials and worked on several
movies such as The Grinch with Jim Carrey; The Kid with Bruce Willis; Call Me Clause with Whoopie Goldberg; and
ShowTime and Daddy Day Care with Eddie Murphy, among others. He's appeared on dozens of TV shows and has
performed live on theatre for years. In 2000, Shorty founded his own company, Shortywood Productions, to provide
and manage little people entertainers for all types of shows, private parties and corporate events.

But Shorty has a special passion that's been a major part of his life since he was a teenager – championing the
cause of pit bulls. Shorty has owned pit bulls since he was 14 and credits them with "saving his life" for being such
loyal companions through some of the roughest times in his life.

Because of this, Shorty took on another huge endeavor, forming Shorty's Pit Bull Rescue, a second business
which rescues, rehabilitates and places neglected and abused pit bulls in loving, nurturing homes. Shorty's Rescue
is not a shelter or a charity; its employees work tirelessly to help relieve the suffering of and prevent cruelty to pit
bulls through education and activism. Through positive pit bull involvement in the community, Shorty's Pit Bull
Rescue influences a healthy/much-deserved reputation for the breed. Shorty's Pit Bull Pet Stars have worked on
several independent, student and short films as well as public-service commercials and various print ads. The
group does volunteer work by visiting nursing homes, schools, functions and hospitals.

After injuring himself in a stunt, Shorty became interested in service animal training. He trained one of his own pit
bulls to be a service animal, and he actively has been involved in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
community ever since. Currently, two of Shorty's dogs are registered service animals with one in training.

Shorty is a workaholic by nature; therefore, he doesn't have much spare time for socializing. When in social
settings, he often surrounds himself with people of all backgrounds in his home in Los Angeles and his second
home in Mexico, where he also spends a lot of time promoting pit bull awareness. Shorty has a special place in his
heart for his employees Ashley, Sebastian and Ronald, who are all little people. Shorty loves cigars, wine and
relaxing with friends and his five pit bulls.