“Hi, beautiful baby. Look how adorable he is. You’re so cute. I love you. You’re so handsome. 

You have a happy life ahead of you, my friend.”

TERRI SUMPTER
​FOUNDER, DETROIT PIT CREW DOG RESCUE

“I think in terms of the problems with animals here in Detroit that we see is they just don’t seem to have enough value to people. ​

They are disposable. They’re like Bic lighters.”

DEBBY MACDONALD

CHIEF INVESTIGATOR,
MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY

“Animal welfare is a very passionate topic and sometimes​

people lose sense of what’s really happening.”

​MATT PEPPER

​PRESIDENT,
MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY

“One of the most difficult things I think when it comes to working with the stray population in Detroit is that the current laws about our ordinances about who can pick up, and where, and why

needs to change somehow.”

MELISSA MILLER

VOLUNTEER, DOGAIDE / DIRECTOR, DACC

“We see a lot of horrible dogs. We can’t take them all home. I have 26 dogs at home that are ex-chained dogs. 

There’s no more room at the inn.”

ALIESHA MEDLEY

FOUNDER, HOUSTON HUTS FOR MUTTS

“If Houston Pets Alive is still open then they’re going there because I know that they’ll find a good home with them. 

Definitely.”

​TINA STONE

VOLUNTEER, HOUSTON HUTS FOR MUTTS

“We’ve come in. We’ve offered our help. We want to make sure

every pet in this arena lives.”

​TAWNY HAMMOND

​BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY

“There are very few cities that have a non-profit that is really focused on trying to increase the city’s

live release rate as their goal.“

DR. ELLEN JEFFERSON

PRESIDENT, AUSTIN PETS ALIVE!

“I began my research into stray dogs living on the street, I wanted to understand their relationship to

dogs being killed in shelters.”

TOM MCPHEE

FILMMAKER,
WORLD ANIMAL AWARENESS SOCIETY

“Transparency is a very important equation in trust.  Trust from the community to trust the organization. They have to believe

what they’re looking at is the truth.”

DEANNA MCPHEE

FILMMAKER,
WORLD ANIMAL AWARENESS SOCIETY

A Stray Dog's RUFF LIFE INFO

Directors Statement:

For the past 10 years I have been trying to get my head around telling a story with too many mostly opaque layers; the story of abandoned, stray, homeless dogs on American streets and in shelters, and the very rough existence they endure before a million are killed wantonly every year. I have hundreds of hours of the most compelling dog rescue footage and interviews with stakeholders all across the globe.

The American Strays Canine Survey was created, enabling volunteers to understand where the focal points of the problems are. Volunteer surveys have been deployed in many cities in Michigan, Texas, and the gulf region of the south. The canine survey allowed our teams to have purpose at the front lines of the independent dog rescue community, and to capture the raw elements that go into whether a city will be successful handling their community’s domestic animal issues.

The idea that a million dogs are killed specifically due to space issues in American shelters, for being homeless temporarily, was so very striking to me. It was right under my nose, and I truly had no idea until I saw it all first hand.
​
As our film team captured the action on the streets while the surveys occurred, I began to see the greater powers at work, keeping cities like Houston and Detroit from providing a higher quality of service to the animals and people in their communities.

Tom McPhee
Filmmaker. WA2S Films
World Animal Awareness Society

Written and produced by Deanna McPhee & Tom McPhee
Directed and edited by Tom McPhee for WA2S Films & Man Smiling Moving Pictures
​ Distributed by Circus Road Films & 1091 Pictures