Film: Dog Bless You (United States)

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00:00:00: SOUND UP
00:00:06: [GRAPHIC – Explore] The mission of Explore is to champion the selfless acts of others.
Explore went on a philanthropic fact-finding mission to Hailey, Idaho to the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley.
God Bless You
Dog Bless You
“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Mahatma Gandhi
00:00:42: [GRAPHIC – SOUND OF DOG CRYING] Each year 8 to 10 million animals enter shelters in the USA, 4 to 6 million are euthanized each year…simply because shelters run out of space
00:01:04: [GRAPHIC – Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley]
00:01:09: JO-ANNE DICKSON: Hi, I’m Jo-Anne Dickson and I am the Executive Director and the Medical Director at the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley.
00:01:15: FEMALE VOICE: (OVERLAPPING) ..bad back. Let’s have a look. He’s had some back surgeries.
00:01:19: JO-ANNE: Um, the Animal Shelter at the Wood River Valley is located in Hailey, Idaho. Um, we provide the services, basically, for all the animals of our county. Um, I’m the first veterinarian they’ve had here and I’ve been here for about a year and a half in that position.
00:01:46: JO-ANNE: You guys are getting a little better. [DOGS BARKING, PUPPIES PLAYING] Every Wednesday, we take a group of animals down to the Senior Center to have them share in the joy of petting animals [GRAPHIC – Paws on Location] and, uh, it’s a great gift for our animals. They love to be petted and getting attention and it’s, uh – and getting socialized – It also really brings joy to those people.
00:02:02: [GRAPHIC] Researchers are finding that pets truly have the power to heal their owners, especially the elderly.
00:02:11: JO-ANNE: (CONTINUED) Actually, every Monday, the elderly people ask us, “Is today the day they’re coming?” and it’s – They have to wait ‘til Wednesday. We have a partnership with the Advocates. A big problem with people that are fleeing from domestic violence is they have pets. A lot of people will not leave an abusive situation if they can’t bring their animal with them. We provide any support that they need, including housing of any animal at any time, um, so that they can be where they need to be and their animal can be safe.
00:02:20: [GRAPHIC – The Advocates – helping people build safe lives – a place to go]
71% of women entering shelters claim their partner abuse their pets for revenge. 75% of the abuse occurred in front of children.
Up to 40% of battered women are unable to escape because they worry about what would happen to their pets.
00:02:45: JO-ANNE: (IN BACKGROUND, UNCLEAR) … her eyes were closed and four of the siblings found….
00:02:590: JO-ANNE: I think the biggest challenge for me, or that I’m finding right now, currently, is probably the same if you ask anyone working for a non-profit and that is getting our message out and letting people know what we actually do. I think people are absolutely shocked to know the extent and the scope of what we provide to this community. Um, because our animal shelter has been here for twenty-five years, um, and there’s no other animal shelter in Blaine County. We’re the first “no kill” shelter in the State of Idaho. I think our community really, truthfully, can’t imagine us not being here, but, in a lot of ways, takes us for granted and assumes we’ll always be here. We’re a private facility and we – You know, we hold the place together with zip ties and duct tape and donations. My dream is to have a site that we can grow into, if we need to - to have a site that can house all of our programs and, if we can do that, I know our community will support us. If our people have the time to do what they do best, you won’t believe what they can do.
00:04:03: [GRAPHIC – Black and white cat – “Meow”]
Name: Ween
Still at Animal Shelter
00:04:10: [GRAPHIC – Tan-colored Dog]
Name: Kenya
Still at Animal Shelter
00:04:18: [GRAPHIC – Black puppies playing and barking]
Name: Papaya, Pineapple, and Banana
Adopted on March 1 and 27, 2008
00:04:27: [GRAPHIC – Black and white dog]
Name: Mazy
Still at Animal Shelter
00:04:38: [GRAPHIC – 3 doggies]
Names: Pierre, Pepito, Jacques, & Muriel
Adopted on March 15 and 27, 2008
00:04:44: [GRAPHIC – Dog on fence]
Name: Miss Mouse
Adopted May 11, 2008
00:05:00: [GRAPHIC – Adopt a Pet – Find Some Love] Explore – Never stop learning [MUSIC PLAYS] With the support of the Annenberg Foundation, explore has made funding possible to: Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley
To learn more: www.animalshelterwrv.org
Director & Host Charles Annenberg Weingarten Explore Producers Tom Pollak Roger Jackson Liz Marks Directors of Photography Mike Prickett Kevin Prickett Editor Brian T. Meehan Production Consultant Jock Bell Graphcs Lachlan Westfall Special Thanks to: Jo-Anne Dixon Carol Pintler Jock Bell explore.org Made Possible by the Annenberg Foundation @2008 explore Annenberg LLC
00:06:25: END OF FILM

Now Viewing: Dog Bless You

In the United States alone, as many as ten million animals enter shelters each year and millions must be euthanized due to lack of space. Explore visits the Animal Shelter of Wood River Valley — the first no-kill shelter in Idaho — and finds out how the shelter staff rescues, protects, and finds homes for abandoned dogs and cats.