Ruff Life (2020)

2,000 healthy dogs are killed every day in American Shelters. Filming more than 100 viral videos, activist filmmaker Tom McPhee sustained a nine year examination of America's homeless dog population that results in a million healthy dogs being killed every year in American shelters. One hundred viral videos have become one seamless potent peek into the animal humane business in America. In Detroit he meets Terri Sumpter, a pissed off dog rescuer who has energized citizens by protesting the treatment of animals at Detroit Animal Control and then is attacked by the old and new animal rescue establishment. In Houston he meets Tawny Hammond an influential member of the Best Friends Animal Society team as she is having their support and resources refused by Houston SPCA after Hurricane Harvey resulting in a logistical catastrophe. In Austin, Texas he hears local civic leader, national pet advocate, and Austin Pets Alive!'s Executive Director Dr. Ellen Jefferson explain why Austin is so different than other cities by refusing to kill domestic animals simply because they are homeless. It is the wild west in the world of domestic animal rescue in the United States, where the rule of law is what you can get away with. Along the way two thousand healthy dogs are killed in shelters every day simply because they are homeless, as the rescue community fights with themselves.