And you won't see anything much more evil than what was documented in this film. Whenever I encounter our capacity for evil against creation, it horrifies me, but sometimes out of that evil you see some grace. In this case, it was the unimaginable hard work of a young man called "Pete," who went undercover to expose the practices of a Class B Dog Dealer. How he did what he did - being an animal lover in a hell on earth - is a mystery of grace to me, and an example of one of those rare times when the ends really do justify the means. And the work of "Pete" and the other filmmakers is among the best documentary work I have seen.
Be warned: This film is not for the faint of heart. The filmmakers do try to break up the hard stuff with more informative bits, but there is hard stuff, and some of it sneaks up on you unexpectedly. (One scene will be burned in my memory forever.) Nevertheless, it ranks right up there with HBO's excellent but difficult series on the global AIDs crisis. If you really, really love animals, you need to watch this film - and sit through all of it - because we all have to understand the practices of Class B Dog Dealers.
As an animal activist, I've followed the work of groups such as *Last Chance for Animals*, for whom "Pete" worked, and it is thanks to them that more animal lovers and pet owners are starting to understand the dangers of these dealers and the fact that their beloved pet and family member can be kidnapped right out of their neighborhood - right out of their yard - as described for us in detail by a seller in the film. To watch loving creatures, so many of whom are clearly family pets, housed in the conditions "Pete" documented is beyond comprehension, except you know that this is the purgatory before the hell they endure when they are shipped off to labs.
There is a payoff, but it makes this no less a cautionary tale. The film doesn't stop the practice across the country, nor does it stop the labs that seem to think that they must have beagles for their research. (Yes, that's right, "Snoopy" is often the research dog of choice.) But you'll come away knowing that justice can occur in bits and pieces and you will be much more educated on the issue. Best of all, you will have enormous respect for people like "Pete" and the other animal activists you meet in the film. It's an important counterweight to the propaganda we hear from corporations that activists are violent troublemakers.
The only violence in this film occurred in a Class B dog warehouse perpetrated by humans housing dogs in horrible inhumane conditions.
Be warned: This film is not for the faint of heart. The filmmakers do try to break up the hard stuff with more informative bits, but there is hard stuff, and some of it sneaks up on you unexpectedly. (One scene will be burned in my memory forever.) Nevertheless, it ranks right up there with HBO's excellent but difficult series on the global AIDs crisis. If you really, really love animals, you need to watch this film - and sit through all of it - because we all have to understand the practices of Class B Dog Dealers.
As an animal activist, I've followed the work of groups such as *Last Chance for Animals*, for whom "Pete" worked, and it is thanks to them that more animal lovers and pet owners are starting to understand the dangers of these dealers and the fact that their beloved pet and family member can be kidnapped right out of their neighborhood - right out of their yard - as described for us in detail by a seller in the film. To watch loving creatures, so many of whom are clearly family pets, housed in the conditions "Pete" documented is beyond comprehension, except you know that this is the purgatory before the hell they endure when they are shipped off to labs.
There is a payoff, but it makes this no less a cautionary tale. The film doesn't stop the practice across the country, nor does it stop the labs that seem to think that they must have beagles for their research. (Yes, that's right, "Snoopy" is often the research dog of choice.) But you'll come away knowing that justice can occur in bits and pieces and you will be much more educated on the issue. Best of all, you will have enormous respect for people like "Pete" and the other animal activists you meet in the film. It's an important counterweight to the propaganda we hear from corporations that activists are violent troublemakers.
The only violence in this film occurred in a Class B dog warehouse perpetrated by humans housing dogs in horrible inhumane conditions.
