Rescues

I have made a film with every pet I’ve rescued and I was excited to continue the tradition with my dog, Molly. My family adopted her from a farmer who kept her tied to his wheelchair day in and day out. He was abusive, and when he was ready to move homes his only plan for her was to be put down. We saw how scared Molly was of the world, cowering and barking at anyone who came close, and knew that if we didn’t adopt her, no one would. When we first took her in she couldn’t go up or down stairs, she never turned her back to us, and was deathly afraid of kitchens. Five years later, she has now starred in a film where she was patient, excited to be around a film crew, and listened to different commands for the purposes of acting in the film. It is a great honor that I was able to capture her personal transformation as a part of this film.

Last year I lost my adopted ferret, Jace. Although I have rescued many pets, I got Jace when I moved to Vermont and was struggling to make friends in highschool. The events leading up to losing him were a horrible whirlwind. When the vet convinced me to take him out of his pain by putting him down, it felt like a betrayal and a failure on my end. I found myself turning to other people in my life to tell me what I had chosen was okay, but no matter how many people I asked I didn’t find closure. I realized I had never seen this portrayed well in film, even though it is a situation so many people struggle through. Everywhere we went to film, when people heard what the story was, they all wanted to tell me about the pets that had meant the world to them that they had lost. I can't wait to watch the film with an in person audience and share the experience and the healing.