Permission to crosspost as long as letter and link to the video are together.
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The Realities of Dogfighting was difficult for me to make on many levels...
For one, it is such a underground "event" that I found myself having trouble
finding all the information that I felt I needed to make a complete
educational video.. As I delved deeper in my research on dogfighting, my heart broke
with each picture, each video clip, with each rescue story that at one point,
I struggled to continue with this video and even then, I took about a month
off and stayed away from it. What kept me going was the remarks I constantly
heard from people I work with, on the street when I'm walking my dogs, on
the internet, on football forums, " They are just dogs, what's the big deal."
Everything. The trauma, the neglect, the cruelty these dogs go through for a
"dog man's" entertainment is horrendous. It truly takes a sick person to
gamble at the lives of dogs.
Secondly, my worry was that I didn't want it to put the
Bully Breeds in a
bad light... I felt like I had to make it clear that these dogs were being
exploited by their handlers to be fighting dogs as well as show that not all of
these dogs will want to fight when thrown into a pit. I hope I succeeding in
that...
Lastly, I have always been taught to end whatever you are doing on a good
note and the fact that The Realities of Dogfighting is so heavy on the heart, I
wanted to end on a lighter, happier note. I found 2 rottweilers and 2
pitbulls, who are Survivors of Dogfighting and tell their heartbreaking stories.
Their human families are just as remarkable. These families spent countless
hours working with these dogs, and spending their first year in and out of
hospitals to bring these dogs back to health, and caring for them after
countless surgeries. Listening to the stories these owners were telling me had me
bawling, I wish I could have gone into more detail on their stories in the
video... These owners are heroes, the tremendous up and down, and the constant
training and working with these dogs was hard, but now, years later for all of
them, they have great dogs and wonderful ambassadors for their respected
breeds...So, I stand up and clap my hands for them and tell them, " Thank You,
and if only in my eyes, you are a hero to me."
YouTube - The Realities of Dogfighting
Thank You,
Linnea Shirley
Creator of The Realities of Dogfighting
my animals
