I think what I like best about "Dealing Dogs" is that Americans are finally able to see important undercover footage -- the kind that usually is circulated underground among animal protection organizations, occasionally rearing its head as a brief, neutered clip on the evening news over the course of "Class B" dealer C.C. Baird's prosecution -- now aired on a premier network, trusted and respected for its programming.
I also like that the facts are getting out, and that the images are so undeniably damning that viewers can no longer live in ignorance of the practice of taking pets for sale to research, and the inhumane treatment of these animals at facilities like those of C.C. Baird at the Martin Creek Kennel.
You get to see how the dogs are acquired from bunchers* and flea markets. These dogs are simply seen as commodities, purchased by Baird for as little as $10 and sold to research facilities for as much as $250. At one of these flea markets, you see some sad stuff. One kid going off to college and considering what to do with his dog talks to C.C. Baird, who offers him $15 for his companion. The kid doesn't go through with it right away, wanting to think on it, and we never find out the fate of his friend.
You see first-hand the physical abuse of dogs at weigh-in; the concrete and wire kennels the dogs are forced to live in, four miserable animals to a cage (frequently fighting with each other, with no stimulation, no walks, and no respite from the cold); and you see the dead pile, where dogs are dumped when they inevitably die (up to eight per week). You learn that dogs are killed -- shot in the head -- because the dealers didn't like the animal's attitude, or to simply cut out their heartworm-ridden hearts for sale to research (more economical than curing them and selling the whole dog later). Some supplemental investigators, led by Chris DeRose, investigate this heart-worm killing ground, finding countless dead dogs in a nearby trench at various stages of decomposition.
Finally, I also like that you see the bust precipitated by this investigation and ultimately you see the USDA act on Baird's 500 some-odd violations of The Animal Welfare act, revoking his "Class B" license and fining him over a quarter million dollars. The dogs are then released to a rescue organization, where they are cared for in a manner truly befitting these trusting creatures that have been bred by people to be our companions. They get the attention and grooming they deserve, and are then adopted out to new homes (hopefully never to be acquired by another buncher). A scroll at the end also lists additional charges and steep penalties incurred by Baird in the U.S. Attorney's case based on LCA's investigation. Overall, you get a feeling that justice was served in this case, but you're reminded that Baird was just one operation.
The thing I don't like, of course, is that this undercover footage always looks like crap. That said, the documentary actually features quite a bit of footage of Last Chance for Animals' "Pete" away from the kennels, shot with a DV camera, so you're not spending 75 minutes staring at dark, shaky-cam footage. Helps give it more of a storyline, too, giving you a better sense of how the investigation was conducted, as well as its aftermath. Also, "Pete" is quite a character. He's young and foul-mouthed, coming off a little bit like the punk that Baird would probably like to hire, and it gives the documentary some color that keeps it from being dry and boring.
"Pete" has the opportunity to talk about his veganism and how, working with these guys and having to basically "become" one of them, he had to pretend he didn't care about the dogs and had to eat meat in order not to arouse suspicion. Those of us who don't eat animals know how hard this must have been for him (not to mention having to work around all these suffering animals without being able to do much, if anything, about the individuals in order to preserve the long-term investigation).
Because we're seeing the whole experience through the eyes of one person, an investigator, it does create sort of a filter. But the footage alone is enough to shock the average person into a state of awareness that will hopefully help them avoid having their beloved companion animals end up in one of these kennels or used for research, and hopefully it might just get them thinking a little bit more about the use of animals in research in general.
I worked with LCA a while back, editing various video footage they had captured on various investigations ("Class B" dealers, Premarin, etc.) to be sent to the local news media, so I'd seen some of this footage before (thankfully I have already recovered from my original reaction to this footage), but I had not seen so much that I knew the overall scope of this secret investigation, so I got a lot out of watching this documentary. If you did not get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend you find another way to view it. It's difficult for animal lovers to witness this cruelty, but it is very important that everyone know as much as they can about this world of bunchers and "Class B" dealers.
If you know someone else with HBO, "Dealing Dogs" is screening again a number of times in the near future:
- HBO2, Wed Feb 22 08:00pm PST
- HB2P, Wed Feb 22 11:00pm PST
- HBO, Thu Feb 23 10:35pm PST
- HBOHD, Thu Feb 23 10:35pm PST
- HBOLAT, Thu Feb 23 10:35pm PST
- HBOP, Fri Feb 24 01:35am PST
- HBO, Mon Feb 27 07:30pm PST
- HBOHD, Mon Feb 27 07:30pm PST
- HBOP, Mon Feb 27 10:30pm PST
- HBO, Thu Mar 02 08:50pm PST
- HBOHD, Thu Mar 02 08:50pm PST
- HBOLAT, Thu Mar 02 08:50pm PST
- HBOP, Thu Mar 02 11:50pm PST
Categories: investigations | bunchers | "Class B" dealers | dogs | animal research | animal cruelty | Animal Welfare Act
