A Stray Dog's RUFF LIFE

Tom McPhee is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Deanna McPhee.

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"The only reason those pets are dying is because they happen to be homeless temporarily..." Tawny Hammond, Best Friends Animal Society

Help end the killing of millions of homeless dogs in American shelters each year! #RUFFLIFE is fundraising here on GoFundMe to save up to 8% in fees that other platforms charge. We are always finding ways to stretch our budget as much as possible

A Stray Dog's RUFF LIFE is a groundbreaking feature length documentary, created by an amateur film-making couple as they capture 8 years of striking visuals and compelling evidence uncovering the truth behind American animal shelters killing millions of homeless dogs every year.

This shocking and thought-provoking documentary is as eye-opening as "Cowspiracy" or "Blackfish" and as inspiring as "The Cove".

"I think The Whole No Kill Movement Has Created An Enormous Divide In Animal Welfare..." Matt Pepper, CEO, Michigan Humane Society

We have been working tirelessly on this film for more than 8 years, and we are finally eyeing the finish line!

We produced this film on our own, with support from the World Animal Awareness Society over the years. No grants, no sponsors, or financial backers. We've put in countless hours over 8 years researching, investigating, planning, filming, and editing to get to where we are, and spent tens of thousands of dollars to produce it, but without your help we can only go so far.

Now we need your help in getting the film and its message to the world.

Join us in this campaign and you will be supporting the absolute most important part of this film: Being Seen By The World.

What We Need & What You Get
In order to have this film seen by as many people as possible, we need to raise $22,500 to cover the costs of post production, promoting and distributing the movie. We have created an amazing impactful film, but unless we can get people to see it, it does no good to anyone.
Your contribution to this campaign pays for:

-Color grading

-Final sound mix and master

-Mastering a Digital Cinema Package (needed for film festival theater screenings)

-Targeted film festival showcase

-Aggressive PR strategy

-Online target marketing

-Coordinated events and tours with non-profit partners to raise awareness about homeless dogs

-Distribution

The more we can raise, the further we can promote this important film and ultimately influence change on a national scale.

“I Think non-collaboration is a huge issue in this field. It is frustrating because its hard to bring people together. When I first got involved with Austin Pets Alive I really wasn't expecting that lack of collaboration...” Dr Ellen Jefferson, Austin Pets Alive!

In Detroit, MI the indefatigable Terri Sumpter, founder of Detroit Pit Crew Rescue fights for homeless street dogs with every free minute she has, which frequently means fighting with existing responsible "authorized" agencies, like the Michigan Humane Society, a 140 year old institution that wrote many of the animal welfare laws in Michigan.

As the leader and principal rescuer of a small volunteer based dog rescue, Terri is often confronted with homeless and abused dogs that no one else is providing help and hope to. The larger more established agencies don't see these animals as important members of their community - or at the very least not important enough to supply meaningful resources toward the resolution of the problem.

"It Was A Gate-keeper mentality, you conform to what we say, you do what we say. and we're going to determine how you rescue... And I basically said, that's why all these dogs are running around..." Theresa "Terri" Sumpter, Founder, Detroit Pit Crew Dog Rescue

In Houston, Texas hundreds of dog rescues and newspaper articles printed nearly daily can attest to the dog population crisis the city is suffering through. Best Friends Animal Society has bought land, and is committed to opening their own shelter because the problem is so bad.

Why are homeless dogs so prevalent in Houston? To answer that question, our World Animal Awareness Society Films team went to Houston before and immediately after Hurricane Harvey and discovered a very disturbing secret one shelter was keeping, which plays a big part in why there are so many dogs loose and homeless on the streets. This shelter refuses to be transparent about the work they are doing to support the city of Houston.

“Overall our concern was that we had trained personnel, and equipment, and people who wanted to volunteer help in Houston but were not being allowed to help by the Houston SPCA. There were lessons learned during Katrina that people forgot.” Tawny Hammond, Best Friends Animal Society

We follow prolific independent dog rescuers in both Detroit and Houston, and contrast them with two animal societies both having their own Animal Planet series - one in each city, only to discover all the differences between them, and the ways they help and hurt each others efforts to save more homeless dog's lives.

"In the future, when they look back on us and see what we did to our pets, we'll be considered insane!" Tawny Hammond, Best Friends Animal Society

We also present the ongoing story of Austin, Texas and their efforts to save, shelter, care for and adopt out their homeless dogs to new families. Austin is the largest city in America committed to saving more than 95% of the homeless dogs from their streets and shelter system every year. And in the process generating more than $150,000,000 in incremental revenue to the city. We show you why large companies have stated the culture of dogs in the lives of Austinites is a factor for moving their businesses to Austin.

Help end the killing and mistreatment of homeless dogs in America.

Please support RUFF LIFE. We have some amazing incentives for donors at all levels.

Donations between $1 and $49 will receive their name on the "Wall of Fame Thank You To Supporters" on the movie's website

Donations between $50 and $99 will receive name on Wall of Fame and name in the end credit under Thank you to our donors.

Donations between $100 and $999 your name on Wall, your name and your pets name and picture in the end credits and custom poster

Donations of $1,000 - to $4,999 will receive name on Wall, end credits with pets picture and if in Texas will have a short film made for them

Donations of $5,000 or more and you will earn the position of Executive Director and your name will go in the opening and end credits

Here's the title track RUFF LIFE as music video featuring Arthur Yoria rescuing his dog Rita in real time. This was filmed half way through our journey of making A Stray Dog's RUFF LIFE

All donations of $50 or more will receive a digital download of the movie when its released as well as a digital download of the sound track by Arthur Yoria. Arthur crafted 4 original songs and allowed the producers to use another 8 new tracks in structuring the unique musical companion for this emotional journey.