Last night while watching TV, the previews of this came on, I was physically sickened by the preview. I was wondering if any one had seen it and what was the purpose of such a film? I guess my question is, what was the message.....(cause I don't think I could watch it)

Class B dealers operate under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and are required by law to treat animals humanely. They are also required to purchase animals only when sellers have all appropriate documentation. Apparently, some dealers ignore these requirements while also purchasing animals that may be strays or may have been stolen directly from owners' yards.

Four years in the making, DEALING DOGS follows the undercover investigation of Martin Creek Kennel by the animal rights group Last Chance for Animals. A young man who goes by the name of "Pete" in the film wore a hidden camera while he worked a low- level job hosing kennels at the dog dealer. Over the course of six months, Pete secretly filmed activities at Martin Creek Kennel, including the beating and shooting of dogs, and recorded footage of animals that were left to languish in their kennels and suffered from malnourishment, life-threatening disease and injury, among other abuses. Dog corpses are shown piled up on the property and in trenches after being butchered for their organs.

C.C. Baird and his family owned and operated Martin Creek Kennel, one of the largest Class B dealers in the United States, until Last Chance provided the results of their undercover investigation to federal authorities, who closed the facility in 2005. Baird's sentencing is expected to take place this winter.

Filmmakers Tom Simon and Sarah Teale met Pete at the beginning of his extended odyssey on behalf of Last Chance for Animals, during which he recorded information and Last Chance presented incriminating video and photographs to the USDA and federal courts in Little Rock. Meanwhile, many more Class B dealers continue to operate without adequate oversight.

Tom Simon is a seven-time Emmy® winner; DEALING DOGS is his first film for HBO. Sarah Teale's previous America Undercover credits for HBO include "Bellevue: Inside Out" and "Mumia Abu Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt?," which received a CableACE Award.

DEALING DOGS is an HBO Documentary Films Presentation; a Working Dog/Teale-Edwards Production; produced by Tom Simon and Sarah Teale; edited by Geof Bartz, A.C.E.; music composed by Jamie Lawrence; sound and photography, Tom Simon. For HBO: supervising producer, John Hoffman; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.

Sounds pretty horrible and the pics of emaciated dogs on the website are disturbing. I really don't understand how a person/persons could treat anything in such a manner. Really gets you angry -

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/dealingdogs/synopsis.html

Just sick, i'm going to watch it for educational purposes. You have to be careful who you give or sell a dog to.

who do these dealers sell to? animal research facilities? i think that reputable facilities have strict guidelines as to whom they'll purchase animals from, but i've heard horror stories over the last 25 yrs too. i'm gonna check with a friend of mine who's been in the business for 20 yrs to find out what guidelines her particular facility uses.

i'll post when i get the lowdown, but i have a HUGE soft spot for coon hounds, and those pics made me want to go get them all and bring them home... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

some research may do it legitimately under federal regualtions, but there i've seen research and investigations exposing puppy mills and the black market for the dogs. A lot of strays, lost pets, and free puppies end up there. I really don;t agree with selling dog s at outrageous prices, but i doubt someone who spends a grand on a dog would do something like that.

Well, I don't see that anyone's reviewed this program. Watched tonite for educational purposes, and found it very enlightening and informative. I don't know the "Last Chance for Animals" group (their site) that was involved even tho they're out my way. I'm don't follow the whole PETA / Pam Anderson / Col. Sanders / SHARK / Starbucks / rodeo thing, but it seemed to be a well done program. It just gives a good overview of the whole research lab / supply dynamics, goverment regulation and oversight (or lack thereof) and such.

My conclusion is that Mr. Baird, the target of the investigation, is just another sociopathic POS from the dregs of humanity that prey on animals and/or people, with no conscience and for his own gain. But that's just my opinion.

Watch and draw your own conclusions. It's graphic, but I actually expected it to be worse.

I also saw the program and expected a lot of replies about it . Maybe people just have not seen it yet.

There's not a whole lot you can say about it , the guy and the people around him are scumbags with no regard for weaker mammals, and i'll bet the ranch they all have really low IQ's. You have to hope the law catches up with them, i didn't watch it all the way through, i shut it off and played with my dogs, they don't know how good they've got it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
AL

I don't know anything about Baird, the kennel owner, but my experience with this part of society is that they're not dumb at all, and it's a mistake to deal with them as if they were. Well, sure enough, after a little more searching, another website says Baird has a bachelor's in math. He's been in this business since 1990. These kinds of cases are very difficult to work up. They're not like robbery, murder or assault where the crime is obvious, you just have to find the perp. Here the prep is obvious, but you've got to find and prove criminal charges.

They finally did a pretty good number on Baird, his wife and his family operation. In the criminal case, he pled to conspiracy to launder money and mail fraud. He's facing a 10-yr. sentence and $5M fine later this year. They forfeited $200K and 700 acres of land (incl. house and kennels) valued at $1.1M and have paid over $42K for partial reimbursement of investigative costs. In the civil case, USDA hit him with a $262K fine.

One down, but probably a whole lot more to go.


ED's COMMENTS IN THIS PIST:

MIKE GOOD OWRK IN POSTING THIS. IT MADE ME FEEL BETTER. KIND OF TOOK AN EDGE OFF THE REVENGE FACTOR THAT BOILS UP WHEN YOU SEE THIS STUFF.