HORSEHEADS (WENY) – A well known actress and animal rights activist was in the Southern Tier Friday afternoon, filming for her upcoming ‘dogumentary’.
Jacqueline Pinol and her film crew met with the Kramer Foundation to highlight the positive difference a person can make in a dog’s life. “When we are euthanizing 3.2 million pets, between dogs and cats, every year in the United States, we have a problem,” says Pinol. That’s what got her and her crew to begin work on The Canine Condition.
The film, The Canine Condition, is an independent documentary exposing the abuse, neglect and abandonment of dogs in the United States. “We just saw the need to do something more than just rescue one or two dogs ourselves. We really wanted to see if we can make a difference,” says Pinol.
Besides just talking about the problems, Jacqueline said she wants the film to highlight some solutions. Which is what brought her to the Horesheads area to meet with Juli Lathrop, the founder of the Kramer Foundation. “Seeing that there’s a place like the Kramer Foundation that rehabilitates them and they have become therapy dogs, working dogs and family pets, it goes to show that the system is broken somewhere and we are not educated enough to know how to fix it but we need to know there is a way and Juli is an example of that,” says Pinol.
Jacqueline and her crew started the project a year ago and have been traveling to as many states as they can speaking with local animal shelters, animal rehabilitation centers and others. “What we’re hearing and what we’re seeing from state to state is that it’s not good. It’s not all fine and dandy and every dog is safe and wonderful and happy and homed,” explains Pinol.
Jacqueline says she hopes the film will educate the country about the problem and the desperate need to support places like the Kramer Foundation as they’re a vital piece in the rescue and rehab of these animals. “I have seen some amazing dogs that you would think have no chance. Whether it’s a medical case, a dog labeled an aggressor or a puppy mill dog that you thought had no chance at living, and I have seen them end up in some of the happiest homes,” says Pinol.
Earlier this year, the Kramer Foundation announced, they will have to shut down if they don’t raise enough money to build a new facility. “We should be supporting places like the Kramer Foundation because they are saving lives and they are educating people. I mean you can’t ask for a better deal than getting a therapy dog that had no chance at living just because it was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” says Pinol.
Jacqueline says she expects to have the filming wrapped up by January. She hopes the film will be ready by the end of 2017. To learn more about the film visit http://www.thecaninecondition.com/home-1.html. To learn about and donate to the Kramer Foundation visit https://www.gofundme.com/spq5gns4