When Hurricane Katrina left more than 250,000 pets stranded, the infrastructure was set up of a nationwide dog rescue effort. Since then, millions of Southern rescue dogs have been transported to new homes, thanks to the tireless efforts of a grassroots network of dog rescuers. But what happens to the dogs not transported into the arms of eager adopters far away? The documentary Free Puppies! travels across the country’s political divide to Dade County in Northwest Georgia to explore one of many rural areas where no public animal services or shelters exist. The filmmakers follow a devoted group of “rescue ladies” who also have created a grassroots plan to start a spay-and-neuter program. Co-producer/director Samantha Wishman and one of the film’s tireless dog rescuers, Monda Wooten, spoke with us on zoom about the story that will touch the heart of any dog-lover.

Samantha, how were you introduced to the world of rescue dogs?

First, I adopted a rescue dog, and then I was helping my family adopt one from Mississippi, and he showed up on a truck in Connecticut with 80 other rescue dogs meeting their adoptive families. It was such an incredible sight to see, and I started talking to the driver who said she came up every weekend and had been doing it for years and that there were many more like her making that same trip. I was blown away by the scale and the scene of the arrival. It was so moving and inspiring, realizing that the dogs had traveled around 14 hours and knowing all the legwork and amount of effort involved with so many people trying to save this one little dog arriving in our home.

So how did you decide on your approach to making this documentary?

I realized that a lot of people had adopted dogs from the South and didn’t really know very much about why. We can celebrate their arrival and happy life but there are a lot of dogs left behind and persistent challenges that lead to not-so-happy outcomes for them. My co-director Christina Thomas and I were introduced to Monda Wooten through a mutual friend, and we went down to film around her area and follow her and many of her good rescue friends. It was a wonderful microcosm of the issues that are universal, in terms of different communities dealing with animal overpopulation.

Monda, how did you feel about being followed by a documentary crew?

Monda: There are hoarder shows and bad news shows and shows about Katrina and all the animals being left behind. But this show encourages hope. I hope that it encourages people to get more involved because that’s how we make a difference. Animals are a big part of our life, and we are their whole life, so it’s a community problem that deserves a community solution.

Do you have examples of taking matters into your own hands to rescue dogs in abusive situations?

I refuse to answer that on the grounds it might incriminate me! (laughs) I will just say this. We used to do some things, but everybody has a camera now so you can’t just cut the chains like you used to do! You have to be a lot more careful and go about it in a more diplomatic way.

The documentary points out that the overpopulation problem is so much worse in the South because of lack of shelters, rescue pet adoption and access to spaying and neutering. Do you see this changing?

Monda: This movie has already done so much more than I ever expected in my small town. Our shelter is about to break ground and a few years ago when filming started, I had hope but was not optimistic.

Samantha:

I was really inspired by the hard work these women do. We found months-long waiting lists at low-cost spay/neuter clinics and lots of people who wanted to do the right thing. Monda drives two hours to bring dogs from her community to low-cost neuter clinics, so we realized it’s not about educating people but about getting the resources and support to help them.

Free Puppies! released on VOD (iTunes/Apple) and DVD on December 13.

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