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scottymcgeesterwrites · 5 years

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10 Underrated Movies of the 2010s

1. John Carter (2012)

Before Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was even produced in 1937, Disney was considering producing an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough’s A Princess of Mars as Disney’s first animated film. During its pre-production stage, producers weren’t quite receptive to the concept. The story was about a man being transported to Mars, where its gravity gave him super powers, and he fought with four-armed green-skinned aliens. Back then, space ideas were the last things on people’s minds in the ‘30’s. They wanted something uplifting from The Great Depression. Disney didn’t quite scrap the story; they shelved it for later and decided to go with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as Disney’s (and the world’s) first feature-length animated movie. John Carter holds the award for the movie with the longest time spent in “development hell”. For the next 75 years, different directors and producers would try to bring back the classic tale of daring-do on the planet Mars. Growing up reading Edgar Rice Burrough’s novels, I was enthralled to hear that they finally produced a live-action film to be released on 2012 – and it was even near my birthday! March of 2012 marked 100 years since Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars. It was like all the stars were truly aligned for something great. The movie finally came out and it . . . didn’t do well at all. It’s also notable for being one of the most expensive movies ever made – and it was all for nothing. What happened? Most of you reading this may even be unaware of the hero John Carter or A Princess of Mars. I find that the main issue was the problem of John Carter being largely unknown because it has been long overshadowed by Flash Gordon, Superman, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and literally everything else that owes its inspiration to John Carter. Superman got its concept of gravity-granting superpowers from John Carter. Flash Gordon got its human-on-another-planet heroics from John Carter. Star Wars derived nearly everything from Flash Gordon. The domino effect goes on. The further you go, the more people forget the original inspiration, and we live in a world now where people don’t really care about who did it first, but who did it best.

There’s a particular scene in the movie John Carter where the titular hero has to fight monsters in an arena. Many critics were bored of the scene, claiming they saw it already in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones; which is ironic being that the arena scene was written almost a full century before Attack of the Clones. Scantily clad Carrie Fisher in Return of the Jedi? That’s a Deja Thoris reference from A Princess of Mars.

It can be difficult to judge a movie or story by itself aside from other derivative works. When that source material is some obscure adventure tale that is literally older than World War I, you should realize that probably not a lot of people have heard about it nowadays.

The film suffers from two other major points: the runtime and the combination of books one and two of Burrough’s original trilogy. A Princess of Mars is a rather simple tale of a man saving a princess on Mars. Its sequel, The Gods of Mars, goes into more complex matters as the evil Therns are revealed as a group of mysterious aliens controlling all culture and life on Mars for their benefit. The movie John Carter tries to combine the two, and I see why. Modern audiences are uninterested in seeing another adventure tale about a guy saving a princess. Ironically, that would have worked much better in the 1930’s, but the Disney board at the time was like, “Space? What’s that? Mars? What’s this newfangled spaceship business?” John Carter ultimately had the unfortunate and unique experiences of being both too ahead and too dated for its time.

I still highly recommend it because the production value is amazing and it’s still highly entertaining. The score is fantastic (Michael Giacchino), and the performances are great, albeit with some cheesy dialogue. The screenwriters added more depth to the character of John Carter that really pulls some heartstrings, especially during one particular scene where he’s bashing hundreds of aliens to a pulp.Unfortunately, the poor performance of John Carter prevented its sequel and the planned trilogy from ever being produced. At the end of the day, I’m still content with seeing the world’s very first space adventure that ultimately inspired Star Wars finally put on screen. 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

I was frankly surprised when nobody else cared about a Solo movie coming out. Having read A.C. Crispin’s Han Solo Trilogy when I was a kid and having overall grown up loving the character, I thought ANY Star Wars fan would be pumped. That was the issue right away before the movie even hit theaters – Nobody. Fucking. Cared. The previous year’s Last Jedi left a sour, divisive taste in the Star Wars fandom. Toxic fans threw their hands in uproar and an entire debacle unseen since the prequel trilogy exploded. Like with Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace, fans had continually harassed and bullied Kelly Marie Tran for playing Rose to the point where she quit Instagram. YouTube videos nearly 30 minutes long were dedicated to bashing the film and “SJW culture” and “virtue signaling”. The entire debacle was a nightmare that makes me shudder to even think about. It was like everyone was tired of Star Wars by the next year. Some people like to say that “Star Wars fatigue” wasn’t the thing because nobody was tired of Marvel movies. I disagree. First of all, I witnessed immediate responses to people’s reactions at the trailer. They said “I don’t care” and “Why do we need that?”. Second, Star Wars and Marvel are two completely different universes. Marvel has a nearly infinite range of various stories with various atmospheres and moods and characters. One Marvel fan can “specialize” in Doctor Strange while another mostly loves Thor. Star Wars follows the same group of characters over the same damn story that we’ve already known for the past 42 years. Like John Carter, Solo had the same problem by being too confident and throwing too much money into its production. Solo also happens to be on the list of the most expensive movies ever made. Its poor performance and inability to make a return on the total costs scrapped the possibility of any more future standalone Star Wars films. Further dissections of why it didn’t work out vary. Some people hate the droid L3-37 and claim unnecessary SJW content. I disagree with that too. In my rulebook, something in a story is not unnecessary unless it proves crucial to the plot; L3-37 is the reason why the Kessel Run worked. Were it not for her fanatic desire of starting a droid revolution, Han wouldn’t have survived. The idea of revolution is also crucial and foreshadows the coming Rebel Alliance. I wonder if people would have had the same reaction to L3-37 if the movie had been released years before the current political situation; if we would have just seen her as a cool, kooky and rebellious droid instead. Solo: A Star Wars Story reveals that Han has always been around instances of rebellion, which he has tried to ignore. It isn’t until A New Hope that he finally gives in for good. I honestly don’t see why some people say it doesn’t fit with A New Hope when it clearly does. One of my favorite parts is when Q’ira tells Han, “I know who you really are.” From the trailer, you would expect her to say “A scoundrel.” But in the film, she says, “The good guy.” The film cements the idea that Han has always tried to look and act cool but deep down he gives in to doing the right thing, which separates him from the other scoundrels at the cantina. It’s because of this adventure that he ends up helping to blow up the Death Star later on. Also, like John Carter, the score is absolutely fantastic. I could go on about it but that would derail the topic for another time. 3. The Gift (2015)

I ended up seeing this movie on a whim by myself after someone bailed on me at the last minute to hang out. I had nothing to do but wanted to do something and checked what was playing in theaters at the time at my local theater. The synopsis hadn’t told me enough about what was really going on while at the same time enticing me. Jason Bateman though really surprised me in this role.I really don’t want to give anything away other than what you can find on the basic synopsis. Jason Bateman is married to Rebecca Hall and the two share a completely content life, until an old school friend of Jason’s starts visiting them. Joel Edgerton plays the school friend, and it’s quite amazing that he both wrote and directed this film too. 4. Prisoners (2013)

This movie was great – and absolutely nobody talks about it. I recall wanting to see a movie with my mom around fall of that year. We realized there was really nothing interesting in theaters. It was a lull where there was nothing really interesting playing. No blockbusters and no Oscar buzz. We chose Prisoners solely based on the fact that we like Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, and I guess we also gathered the general sense that it was a mystery.I became glued to the screen during the entire movie. The story revolves around Hugh Jackman’s daughter supposedly abducted by Paul Dano, who plays a mentally ill suspect. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the detective tasked with finding the daughter. With Paul Dano being unable to articulate his thoughts, everyone is left distraught on how to solve this case. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal take drastically different routes in trying to find the girl.Out of everything on my list of underrated films here, this was the most nail-biting. Highly recommend. That ending. Whoo. 5. Source Code (2011)

This movie is a real mindbender. It might be so much of a mindbender that it’s the reason why people didn’t talk about it more. They probably just thought, “Huh?” and wanted to rewatch the previous year’s Inception again instead.Jake Gyllenhaal is on a mission to find a bomber on a train in a computer simulation. That’s how it starts at least. . . Another movie I probably shouldn’t explain too much, but it explored themes about a post 9/11 world and the nature of self. 6. The Big Short (2015)

This movie was a hit and then everybody forgot about it. Heck, I know a bunch of you didn’t even see it. I find this really concerning. Brought to you by the director of none other than Anchorman, Adam McKay directed a very entertaining but distressing take on the Great Recession. It has an ensemble cast of Brad Pitt, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale. The movie manages to translate complicated, bullshit concepts in Wall Street into layman’s terms. Every performance delivers, yes, but it was also staggeringly prophetic in what would come a year later in the 2016 election – “I have a feeling, in a few years people are going to be doing what they always do when the economy tanks. They will be blaming immigrants and poor people.” This movie should have seriously started a riot. But it didn’t. Watch it. 7. Spectre (2015)

Many Bond fans hated Spectre, and it’s often compared to the supposed high-and-mighty Skyfall. I beg to differ. Spectre brought back the fun in Bond without also resorting to the really obnoxious misogyny. The Daniel Craig era of Bond films went back to Ian Fleming’s original intention of Bond being more of a “blunt instrument” than the tongue-in-cheek action hero he came to be known in the film series. And that’s okay. But you can’t help but be bored once and a while by the recent trend of “making things gritty in the new millennium”. Spectre brought back the evil Blofeld, Bond’s nemesis. Fans hated it because this movie implies that every other Daniel Craig movie has been tied to Spectre, ruining the standalone nature of Skyfall and feeling like Spectre was a shoe-in.

This situation requires a lot of explaining, but I’ll be brief.

The creative entities of Spectre and Blofeld were tied up in a copyright battle for almost half a century. Back when Ian Fleming was still alive, he was working on a script for Thunderball with a screenwriter named Kevin McClory. Long story short, there was a dispute on who created Spectre and Blofeld – Fleming or McClory. McClory won the dispute and MGM (the producers of the Bond films) were prohibited from using the names and characters of Spectre and Blofeld.

The last time we officially saw the character in name was in 1971’s Diamonds are Forever. Blofeld made a cameo in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only but was never mentioned by name, but you knew it was Blofeld because he was always the man with the white cat. McClory did eventually make his own version of Thunderball in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, which was an unofficial Bond movie yet it still starred Sean Connery (crazy, I know).

Fast-forward to when the Daniel Craig era started in 2006 with Casino Royale. Spectre and Blofeld were still under copyright protection of McClory. Instead of using the name Spectre, the writers had to come up with another Specter-inspired evil corporation. So they came up with “Quantum”, the evil company behind the plots of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

BUT THEN, the McClory estate officially settled the matter with MGM in 2013, and Spectre and Blofeld could now be used. The writers jumped on it and that’s why to some Spectre feels like it was a shoehorned at the last minute.In my opinion, Skyfall had more issues being a standalone film. The villain Silva was supposed to be working alone and yet somehow create all these elaborate, time-sensitive plots that was just too much for one man with maybe a few henchmen to pull off. In Spectre, it’s implied that Silva used Spectre’s resources to help him plan his revenge. This would realistically make more sense. After all, it’s in the name: SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion. One would go to Spectre in order to enact revenge on someone if one didn’t have the means or resources.

And the whole Quantum being a part of Spectre thing – so what? Quantum was meant to be the same thing anyway. Lastly, there is some dispute on to the nature of Blofeld’s relationship with Bond. Bond suddenly has an evil foster brother now? Some complained about it. I thought it was fine. It gives a reason for Blofeld to go out of his way to torture Bond rather than just shoot him, which is a point always parodied in Bond spoofs. So again, it actually makes sense. I thoroughly enjoyed Spectre. It was virtually not misogynist out of the new Bond films. It treated the main girl, Madeline, very well, as well as the “other” girl Lucia. Yeah, some of the action is dumb and more out of spectacle than realism. It’s still done with the same wit and style of the old Bond films. 8. Shazam! (2019)

Yeah. I get it. Everyone’s tired of the god-awful, insipid DC Cinematic Universe (except for Wonder Woman), which pales in comparison to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Shazam! was finally a very fresh, funny, and lively DC movie. What makes it stand out to me was how it ended up revolving around the main character’s friends standing together with him, rather than just simply being an origin story of one superhero. Nothing felt like it fell flat. The humor was spot on. The action was good. You had a really pained, terrible villain. Some of the plot may be simple but it had a satisfying ending. Shazam! has the same kind of energy as Spider-man: Homecoming, but by doing its own thing and having its own theme of what a family really means. It revels in the genre by literally putting you in the shoes of a child’s wish fulfillment. 9. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

I saw this movie on a whim on Netflix. Nobody has made any fuss about it. I think it was fantastic. It’s a quirky sci-fi comedy with Aubrey Plaza playing a newspaper reporter investigating an ad someone put in the classifieds asking for a time travel companion. She goes along with two other co-workers, played by Jake Johnson and Karan Soni (who later becomes the taxi guy in Deadpool). I have to be honest – I don’t find Jake Johnson that funny. In most things I’ve seen him in, I feel like his reactions are forced. But his deadpan deliveries in this movie are on the spot. Mark Duplass was still relatively unknown at this time, and played the oddball guy who placed the ad and firmly believes he made a time machine. The entire movie only costed $750,000! Movies today need to spend over $10 million in order to try and make something as compelling as this. This movie alone influenced the modern indie film industry by combining forces with Netflix. Maybe Netflix and chill wouldn’t have been a thing if it weren’t for this movie. 10. The Nice Guys (2016)

I saved my personal favorite for last. The Nice Guys is my favorite underrated movie that I have seen this past decade. It has everything I love in a buddy film; wit and style. Written and directed by Shane Black, this movie has some real zingers and hilarious deliveries. Ryan Gosling plays a jittery private detective, who unwillingly teams up with Russel Crowe, who beats up people for a living. The story revolves around a missing girl who is a key witness to a grander conspiracy involving the automobile industry. This is one of those movies that never fails to make me laugh. I can rewatch the same scenes over and over and still crack up with laughter. My only gripe is that the final confrontation can be a bit unrealistic at times, which can be close to breaking that border of “Okay, is this witty satire like Coen Brothers or just outright comedy sketch like The Naked Gun?” So to me it felt a little imbalanced in the last quarter. Still, the rest of the movie really hits the right marks.

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starwarsnonsense · 6 years

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Top 10 Films of 2018 (So Far)

Since I quite like continuing old traditions, I wanted to do a post rounding up what I consider to be the ten best films of 2018 so far. This list includes a few films that came out in 2017 in the US, since they were only released here in the UK this year.

Have you seen any of the films I cover below? Have I piqued your interest in a title you might not have heard before? Let me know, and do share your favourites too!

1. Annihilation, dir. Alex Garland

This was my most anticipated film of the year, and my hype for it was more than rewarded. This is a marvellously rich and transporting science fiction film that isn’t afraid of taking the viewer to some very weird places. However, Annihilation doesn’t simply rely on its strangeness to succeed - it is also firmly rooted in its characters and themes, which has made it incredibly rewarding to return to. Natalie Portman is fantastic as Lena, and Annihilation is a brilliant showcase for her - Lena is a complex and frequently self-destructive character, riddled by guilt and regrets that shape the pulsating, luminescent world of the mysterious ‘Shimmer’ that she has to venture into. The Shimmer might seem like an environmental phenomenon at first, but it’s really more psychological, being a space that adapts according to the people who enter into it. This film overflows with fascinating and thought-provoking ideas, and it was entirely worth the hike I made over to Brooklyn to catch one of the final showings at the theatre (since Annihilation was denied a theatrical release in the UK, I made a point of seeing it while I was on holiday in New York). I think it will go down as one of the great science fiction films, and it belongs in the same conversations as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris.

2. Beast, dir. Michael Pearce

This little British film - shot mostly on location in Jersey by a first-time director - was easily the biggest (and best) surprise I’ve had so far at the cinema this year. I literally had no idea this film existed until a day or so before I watched it, and that made the experience of viewing it even more wonderful. Moll (Jessie Buckley) is an isolated young woman who is stifled by her controlling family and quiet life on a remote island, as well as a secret sin that bubbles away underneath the surface. Her life is predictable - safe, repetitive and dull - until she meets Pascal, a mysterious local man who she finds she has an affinity with. However, there is a murderer haunting the island, taking the lives of young girls in the night. Who’s to blame, and what impact will the killings have on Moll and Pascal’s swiftly escalating romance? While that is a synopsis more than a review, I felt it necessary to explain the premise to try and compel you to seek this one out. Beast is raw, woozy and utterly absorbing - the love story between Moll and Pascal is one of the most passionate and gripping you’ll ever see on screen, and their chemistry is simply sensational. There’s a real gothic, fairy-tale edge to the story which appealed perfectly to my (admittedly rather niche) tastes. This is a real hidden treasure of a film - do yourself a favour and make it your mission to watch it.

3. Lady Bird, dir. Greta Gerwig

This film was so, so relatable, despite my not really having experienced an adolescence anything like “Lady Bird’s”. While the details of her life are very different from mine, I think anyone can relate to the sweeping brushstrokes - the tensions that can arise between parents and children, the thirst for freedom and independence that builds the closer you get to the final days of school, and the feelings of love and loyalty that are always there even when they’re unspoken. Greta Gerwig captures all of this and so much more with marvellous delicacy, balancing little moments that add colour and spark with more serious scenes so deftly that it’s amazing to think that this is her first feature. Lady Bird is a very specific and very beautiful film, and it’s special precisely because it feels universal even as it feels small and personal to its director.

4. Eighth Grade, dir. Bo Burnham

This is the perfect double bill with Lady Bird, and the people who have dubbed this film “Lady Bird Jr” are right on the money. Elsie Fisher has a real star turn as the heroine Kayla, who is a very special child - she’s kind, sensitive and thoughtful, which basically means she’s my kind of superhero. But even as she is a good and sweet person, she is also going through all of the trials you’d expect a 13 year old to be facing in 2018, as she wrestles with acne, confusing feelings about super-dreamy boys, and the escalating anxiety that comes with a comment-free Instagram post. Like Lady Bird, this film succeeds in being both very specific and highly universal - the only social media I had to deal with as a teen were MySpace and Bebo, and I found that seeing Kayla wrestle with a whole kaleidoscope of feeds, devices and platforms made her strong grip on her integrity as a funny and deeply warm-hearted individual all the more remarkable. Bo Burnham, as with Gerwig, made a pretty incredible film here - in particular you should watch out for the father/daughter dynamic, which is my favourite part. Eighth Grade is funny and generous, and the perfect medicine if you’re feeling demoralised by the state of the world right now.

5. The Breadwinner, dir. Nora Twomey

The Breadwinner is a really lovely animated film telling the story of Parvana, a young girl living with her family under the Taliban. When her father is taken off to prison, Parvana sees no other choice but to dress as a boy to provide for her mother and siblings. But how long will her disguise last? The story here was what really gripped me - it’s very simple, in both the telling and the themes, but it is truly beautiful in that simplicity. The emotions are very raw, and this film goes to some shockingly dark places at times - while I think it can be watched with children as long as they are mature enough for some challenging themes and upsetting moments, it’s likely to speak most strongly to adult audiences with a fuller appreciation for the context in which the film is set. It’s a great and moving alternative to more mainstream animated efforts, and is well worth your time.

6. Phantom Thread, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

This was a delightfully twisted film with an absorbingly complicated and twisty relationship at its centre. Vicky Krieps is an absolute marvel as Alma, and it’s wonderful to see how she battles to bring the fragile and austere designer Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) to heel. It’s also a beautiful film with rather fabulous fashions - if you love couture, particularly from the ‘50s, this will be a real treat. I also appreciated the many allusions to classic cinema - there are strong shades of Hitchcock’s Rebecca, as well as the underrated David Lean film The Passionate Friends. Check this out if you like your romantic dramas weird and entirely unpredictable.

7. Revenge, dir. Coralie Fargeat

Revenge is angry, sun-soaked and batshit insane - and it is pretty great for all of those reasons. It follows Jennifer, the teenage mistress of a sleazy married man. After a horrifying assault Jennifer returns, phoenix-like, to wreak her revenge upon her attackers. This movie was very much inspired by exploitation flicks, with their penchant for showing scantily clad (and frequently bloody) women wielding shotguns to hunt down the brutes who did them wrong. However, first-time director Coralie Fargeat takes every one of those tropes and owns them, ramping up the blood and giving the action a propulsive energy that keeps you gripped even as you know exactly where things are going. The soundtrack here is also one to look out for - it’s all pulsating synths that do a great job of building the suspense and tension from the get-go.

8. Lean on Pete, dir. Andrew Haigh

This is a very painful film in many ways, but it’s only painful because it does such a great job of earning your emotional investment. The lead of this film is Charley, a sensitive and quiet teenage boy who becomes attached to an ailing race horse as he seeks to escape his troubled home-life. When he finds himself in crisis, Charley takes the horse and they head off on a journey across the American heartland. Charlie Plummer is extraordinary as the lead here - Charley is the kind of character that makes you want to reach through the screen so you can offer him a hug of reassurance and support. The photography of the American countryside is exquisite, and means this film really deserves to be seen on the big screen - the breadth of the landscape gives all of the emotional drama some (richly deserved, in my view) extra punch.

9. You Were Never Really Here, dir. Lynne Ramsay

This is a very weird film (you’re probably noticing a theme at this point) but it’s completely absorbing. It’s very much actor-led, and the film rests on the shoulders of Joaquin Phoenix’s gripping and unpredictable performance - in some scenes he’s muttering in deference to his mother like a modern-day Norman Bates, while in others he’s portrayed almost as a lost boy in an overgrown body, disorientated by his environment and engaging in acts of extreme violence as if in a sort of trance. The narrative is fuzzy and unfocused, but I didn’t find that mattered much since I was too busy following every evolution of Phoenix’s face.

10. Thoroughbreds, dir. Cory Finley

Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy make fantastic foils to one another as two appallingly privileged teenagers whose obscene wealth is only matched by their resounding lack of morals. This is a film that plays with your loyalties, trying to wrong-foot you at every turn - it’s frequently difficult to figure out what’s genuine here, and while that did sometimes leave me feeling a bit emotionally detached that’s usually the point. This film is more of an intellectual puzzle than a lean, mean, emotion-extracting machine (see: Lean on Pete), and it succeeds brilliantly on that level. The simplicity of the story means the fun lies in picking apart lines and expressions, so go in prepared for some close viewing.

#annihilation #films #cinema #movies #list #movie recs #beast #lady bird #lean on pete #the breadwinner #phantom thread #Eighth Grade #you were never really here #thoroughbreds

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carasueachterberg · 5 years

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Happy New Year, friends! With the puppies launched and Bell in the process of being launched, I’ve got a little breathing room to focus on a few upcoming projects for 2020.

The first of those projects is one I’ve mentioned on the blog and been hinting about for the last few months. It’s a nonprofit initiative of Operation Paws for Homes called, Who Will Let the Dogs Out. Photographer Nancy Slattery and I created it so we could formally fundraise and work to raise awareness and resources for shelters and rescues in our rural south in the hopes of ending the senseless killing of so many good dogs.

The idea first began to take shape as I sat on a patch of gravel with a terrified pitbull named Hazel outside a South Carolina shelter last spring. We’d just escaped the deafening noise of the shelter—a metal pole building where the pounding sound of over one hundred dogs frantic with fear and excitement erupted with every visitor, employee, or new dog. Basically, all day and night.

Hazel was shaking as I coaxed her outside. I’d intended to take her for a walk or throw a ball with her in the playyard, but it had taken so long just to get outside, that instead we sat in the sunshine. She wouldn’t meet my eye or lie down, but she sat tentatively on the gravel and stared at the building as I petted her and talked to her.

I’d seen the statistics of that shelter, had interviewed the director, and knew that the odds for this terrified, shut-down dog were not good. It was likely Hazel would eventually be euthanized after suffering for weeks in the windowless, noisy building, lying on a concrete floor with no bedding or toys or comfort of any kind. There was nothing I could do and that fact simply ate at me. It motivated me to return to the shelters two more times last year, each time the conviction that I had to do something grew.

So many of the shelters I visited on my trips were doing all they could to save animals, but the need was endless. There was never enough time, help, or money, and certainly not enough adopters. Rescues made a huge difference, but I know now that we cannot rescue our way out of this problem. If we could, we would have– the people I know in rescue are some of the most convicted, determined, passionate people. They want to save dogs, but no matter how many they do, the desperate need continues.

We have to find local solutions, change attitudes, create smart laws, and support the people doing the real work at shelters and rescues, not just in the cities or at the well-funded county shelters, but in the tiny towns, down the forgotten roads where the local shelter might be in someone’s backyard or a shack inside the municipal dump.

One thing I know is that if I want to help, I’ve got to get off my little hill here in Pennsylvania and travel south. Listen to the people who are living this and then tell their stories, share what I learn, and find ways to connect the knowledge, resources, ideas, and people with the shelters and rescues that need them. I can’t simply take their dogs and move them north, yes this saves lives and yes it is critical but all it does is put a bandaid on a gaping wound that is endlessly oozing lives. We have to find a way to heal that wound.

I know that if you were sitting with Hazel on that sunny patch of gravel, if you’d seen what I saw down the dirt roads and behind chainlink fences ringed with barbed wire, you too would want to do something. It’s easy to forget where they came from when I’m cuddling puppies in my mudroom or throwing a ball for my latest foster at the dogpark. It’s easy to feel good that I’ve done something and to push aside the fact that there are so many more still suffering, so many that won’t be so lucky. And while, yes, our country has come a long way, it is not far enough. I won’t settle for better. Better certainly didn’t help Hazel.

So Who Will Let the Dogs Out intends to do just that – find a way to let the dogs out. I don’t have the solution and don’t believe there is a single solution. But I do know this is fixable.

We’ve visited shelters with tiny budgets that were bright, cheerful places where dogs lounged on raised beds and chewed filled kong toys between multiple daily walks and visits from volunteers while they awaited rescue or adoption. I met directors who work hard to connect with their community, helping to teach them the value of an animal. Where they partner with people to educate and equip them to care for their animals, having them spayed or neutered, microchipped, and give them preventatives and vaccines. I’ve encountered Humane Societies or Associations where they are working to change regulations, nurture partnerships, and create progressive facilities. Places where the tide is slowly turning.

But we’ve visited too many places where they are drowning. Where the shelter director or animal control officer or volunteers simply cannot keep up. They spend their days in an unending shell game moving dogs and shuffling cats, trying to keep as many as they can alive. There is no time or money or people to do much more than clean the kennels and fill the food bowls, and some can’t even do that. Dogs suffering? At least they’re alive. But what kind of life is it spent for months or even years in a cement kennel, bombarded with noise and neglect?

The first step to any kind of change is awareness. So that’s where we have to begin. By traveling south, Nancy and I, along with any other volunteers we take south, will start by sharing the stories. We’ll help people to know about Hazel and all the other dogs waiting and wishing, and we’ll introduce them to the heroes who work every day to save them. We’ll do our best to try to understand the problems–those unique to an individual shelter or rescue and those universal throughout the rural south. It’s not possible to fix a problem you don’t understand. (That was always my problem with geometry.)

Our next trip in March will take us to western Tennessee to the rural dog pounds and private rescues that have cropped up in the absence of county shelters, and then down to Mississippi to meet our OPH partners and other rescues. If you’d like to support us, you can do so in many, many ways.

Because undoubtedly I’ll have a new foster dog to write about soon on this blog, most of what we’re up to can be found on the blog, Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and on our Facebook page or Instagram by the same name. I hope you’ll subscribe to the blog and follow us on social media, but what I really hope is that you’ll share the posts far and wide to help us reach as large an audience as we can.

Nancy and I are more than willing to travel (a reasonable distance) to give presentations on the situation in our southern shelters. If you know of a group who would like to hear our stories and see the pictures, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I am desperately in search of a bigger microphone to share this message.

If you’d like to support us financially, there are lots of ways. The fundraiser for our trip is up and running on our Facebook page—all donations are tax-deductible. You can also send a check to OPH or donate through the website, just be sure to designate it for ‘Who Will Let the Dogs Out’ so it finds its way to us.

We still have Another Good Dog PA Pups calendars available for sale. Email me ([email protected]) to get yours. They are $20 ($25 with shipping) and feature the beautiful photography of Nancy Slattery, all the dog holidays noted, and the last page tells the story of the PA Pups;; best of all, the proceeds go to Who Will Let the Dogs Out (Waldo for short).

The last way you can help is by dropping off donations for the shelters. We will take everything donated with us to hand out on our travels. Most needed: high quality dog and puppy food (dry and canned), treats, tough-chewer toys, collars/harnesses/slip leads, flea/tick preventatives, dewormers, and Amazon, Chewy, or Tractor Supply gift cards. I updated our Who Will Let the Dogs Out amazon wishlist which makes it easy to send donations for the trip. Otherwise, email me for address and to set up a time to drop off ([email protected])

Bell has been enjoying her last weeks with us. She is getting healthy and strong and will soon be spayed so that her new life can begin. I’ll tell you all about that next week!

Reports are that the puppies are growing fast and settling into their new homes. There have been quite a few updates on the Another Good Dog facebook group, if you want to see for yourself.

Thanks for your support!

Cara

If you’d like regular updates all my foster dogs past and present, plus regular videos of the PA pups, be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

For information on me, my writing, and my upcoming book, One Hundred Dogs and Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues, visit CaraWrites.com.

Our family fosters through the all-breed rescue, Operation Paws for Homes, a network of foster homes in Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and south-central PA.

Recently released from Pegasus Books and available anywhere books are sold: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs.

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at [email protected].

It's time to bring it - awareness equal change. #nomoregooddogsdying #whowillletthedogsout #bethechange Happy New Year, friends! With the puppies launched and Bell in the process of being launched, I’ve got a little breathing room to focus on a few upcoming projects for 2020.

#animal rescue #awareness #calendar #change #mission #shelters #Who Will Let the Dogs Out

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buynewsoul · 6 years

Text

What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs

The post What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs by Nancy Hassel appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

Have you ever thought about adopting a dog that might be overlooked because he can’t hear? As you’ll see, there are many organizations that help make life better for our deaf and hard-of-hearing four-legged friends.

Christina Lee and Deaf Dogs Rock

Christina Lee and her husband, Chris, have four deaf dogs: Nitro (Boxer), Bud (Boxer), Bowie (Boston Terrier) and Cornell (Heeler) and two hearing seniors: Tallulah (a Chug) and Pepe (Chihuahua). Photography courtesy Christina Lee.

In 2010, Christina Lee volunteered from time to time, taking photos of the dogs for adoption at the City of Salem Animal Shelter in Virginia. She got a call from the then shelter director, Rebecca Custer: “We have a 10-week-old Boxer puppy dumped near the river that is emaciated and deaf. Do you think you can come down and meet him? Possibly foster him?”

Christina hesitated, as she had three dogs of her own and didn’t know anything about deaf dogs. She credits her husband, Chris. “He talked me off the ledge, saying we’ll take him to puppy classes and learn all we can about caring for a deaf dog.”

Later, a local news station did a story on Nitro, and everything took off from there. Christina’s inbox was full of emails from viewers saying, “We just adopted a deaf puppy; what do we do?” or “I would like to adopt a deaf dog; how do I find one?”

Not only was Nitro — who is now 8 — one of Christina’s first foster failures, but he is the reason she started Deaf Dogs Rock.

In August 2011, Christina launched the Deaf Dogs Rock website to educate other pet parents with deaf dogs and help find homes for displaced and shelter deaf dogs. Now Deaf Dogs Rock helps shelters across the country by listing their deaf dogs on the website. It also has informational videos on caring for deaf dogs.

Deaf Dog Rocks became an official nonprofit organization in 2014 and has since been raising money to help deaf dogs get out of shelters, into foster care and eventually adopted.

To date, the organization has sponsored almost 400 deaf dogs within their partner rescues nationwide. There are many breeds on the Deaf Dogs Rock website available for adoption, and the website has helped more than 3,000 deaf dogs find homes throughout the country.

What to know about living with a deaf dog

Thinking about adopting a deaf dog? “Spend some time on our website,” says Christina. “We have a tremendous amount of information on how to properly care for your newly adopted deaf dog.

Keep a routine that your dog gets accustomed to and teach your dog hand signals when you begin training. This goes for hearing dogs as well, in case they lose their hearing as seniors; they will be used to the hand signals and make the transition of not being able to hear like they used to better.”

Christina plays a lot of scent games and hides treats to keep the deaf dogs engaged. “At my farm we have a lot of safety precautions like double latching our gates, and our dogs are attached at the harness and collar when we walk — a double fail so if the collar came undone for some reason, our dogs are still attached at the harness.”

Deaf Dogs Rock gets about three adoption listings and two to three requests for help daily. Check out Deaf Dogs Rock’s Facebook page to learn more about deaf dogs and deaf dogs in need of help.

“A deaf dog is just like any other dog,” Christina says. “It’s a dog first, breed second and deaf third.”

A new life for Norman

Norman has learned just about every command through hand signals. Photography courtesy Susan Johnson.

Norman was in a municipal town shelter for two years. He is deaf and a Pit Bull — not the easiest dog to adopt, but those are the two things that made Andrea Gallo fall in love. A volunteer at the Town of Islip Animal Shelter, Andrea remembers when Norman first arrived at the shelter.

Found on Long Island, New York, in a hole in a field with bungee cords wrapped around him, someone saw Norman and called the animal shelter. When animal control got there, they whistled and called out for him, but they got no response.

Eventually they found him. The animal control officers thought he was deaf, and they did informal testing at the shelter, making noises and banging dog bowls. Norman didn’t respond.

Andrea was a new volunteer when Norman was brought in, and the trainer on staff noticed her interest in Norman. The trainer showed Andrea the sign for “sit” with hand signals she was teaching him, and Andrea became Norman’s volunteer.

Andrea started working with him on a regular basis and went on to teach him with hand signals: stay, down, come, give paw and thumbs up for “good boy.”

Bringing a deaf dog into your life

She wanted to adopt Norman, but had a dog-reactive Husky, Kozy. Their initial meet and greet didn’t go well. With permission from the shelter director, volunteers with the liaison nonprofit working with the shelter at the time took Norman to Andrea’s neighborhood, and they walked the dogs together at least 15 times to get them better acquainted.

With time, patience and perseverance, the two dogs ended up being buddies, often napping together. Kozy passed away in 2016, and Norman is now the king of the household.

Andrea continues teaching him more hand signals. “He knows so many signals now and is so in tune with me that I can’t even think of all of them,” she says. “It is just second nature in our house.”

Andrea says that if you’re thinking of adopting a deaf dog, don’t hesitate. “Having a deaf dog has its advantages,” she says. “They constantly watch you for direction, they are not scared of fireworks, thunderstorms, doorbells or loud noises and are actually very easy to train. If you have another dog in the house, your deaf dog will pick up on the other dog’s signals.”

She says to never overlook a deaf dog. “They make wonderful pets. And if you live in an apartment, you won’t have to worry about your dog barking in your apartment from hearing noisy neighbors or people walking by.”

Educated in dog training, Andrea trains for clients and still volunteers at the shelter. You can follow Norman’s (aka NormButt) daily antics and adventures on Instagram.

How to help deaf dogs

Deaf dogs make wonderful pets. Photography ©walik | Getty Images.

Think about adopting a deaf dog, as they can be easily overlooked and thought of as being difficult to train. You can see from both of these stories that deaf dogs make wonderful pets.

Have your own deaf dog? Make him a deaf-dog influencer on social media or locally in your community to show people that they make wonderful pets — and are just regular dogs after all.

Find out if your local animal shelter works with any organizations that help with deaf dogs. Let staff know about organizations like Deaf Dogs Rock and Deaf Dogs Rescue of America.

Thumbnail: Photography ©Azret Ayubov | Getty.

Nancy Hassel is the pet parent of Pit Bull Cody and the president of American Pet Professionals, an award-winning business networking and educational organization for the pet industry since 2009. Nancy travels the country as a speaker, media and public relations specialist, working with pet companies in many aspects including event planning and training for pet professionals. Find her on Instagram and Twitter at @AmericanPetPros.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Dogster magazine. Have you seen the new Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet’s office? Subscribe now to get Dogster magazine delivered straight to you!

Read more dog news on Dogster.com:

That Dood Squad: The Ultimate Photoshoot of Doodles

Sirius and Mercury: The Unlikely Friendship Between a Dog and a Miniature Horse

A Pro’s Advice on Starting Your Pet-Sitting and Dog-Walking Business

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jeffreyrwelch · 6 years

Text

What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs

Christina Lee and Deaf Dogs Rock

Not only was Nitro — who is now 8 — one of Christina’s first foster failures, but he is the reason she started Deaf Dogs Rock.

Deaf Dog Rocks became an official nonprofit organization in 2014 and has since been raising money to help deaf dogs get out of shelters, into foster care and eventually adopted.

What to know about living with a deaf dog

Thinking about adopting a deaf dog? “Spend some time on our website,” says Christina. “We have a tremendous amount of information on how to properly care for your newly adopted deaf dog.

Deaf Dogs Rock gets about three adoption listings and two to three requests for help daily. Check out Deaf Dogs Rock’s Facebook page to learn more about deaf dogs and deaf dogs in need of help.

“A deaf dog is just like any other dog,” Christina says. “It’s a dog first, breed second and deaf third.”

A new life for Norman

Norman has learned just about every command through hand signals. Photography courtesy Susan Johnson.

Eventually they found him. The animal control officers thought he was deaf, and they did informal testing at the shelter, making noises and banging dog bowls. Norman didn’t respond.

Andrea started working with him on a regular basis and went on to teach him with hand signals: stay, down, come, give paw and thumbs up for “good boy.”

Bringing a deaf dog into your life

With time, patience and perseverance, the two dogs ended up being buddies, often napping together. Kozy passed away in 2016, and Norman is now the king of the household.

Educated in dog training, Andrea trains for clients and still volunteers at the shelter. You can follow Norman’s (aka NormButt) daily antics and adventures on Instagram.

How to help deaf dogs

Deaf dogs make wonderful pets. Photography ©walik | Getty Images.

Think about adopting a deaf dog, as they can be easily overlooked and thought of as being difficult to train. You can see from both of these stories that deaf dogs make wonderful pets.

Have your own deaf dog? Make him a deaf-dog influencer on social media or locally in your community to show people that they make wonderful pets — and are just regular dogs after all.

Find out if your local animal shelter works with any organizations that help with deaf dogs. Let staff know about organizations like Deaf Dogs Rock and Deaf Dogs Rescue of America.

Thumbnail: Photography ©Azret Ayubov | Getty.

Read more dog news on Dogster.com:

That Dood Squad: The Ultimate Photoshoot of Doodles

Sirius and Mercury: The Unlikely Friendship Between a Dog and a Miniature Horse

A Pro’s Advice on Starting Your Pet-Sitting and Dog-Walking Business

0 notes

stiles-wtf · 6 years

Text

What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs

Christina Lee and Deaf Dogs Rock

Not only was Nitro — who is now 8 — one of Christina’s first foster failures, but he is the reason she started Deaf Dogs Rock.

Deaf Dog Rocks became an official nonprofit organization in 2014 and has since been raising money to help deaf dogs get out of shelters, into foster care and eventually adopted.

What to know about living with a deaf dog

Thinking about adopting a deaf dog? “Spend some time on our website,” says Christina. “We have a tremendous amount of information on how to properly care for your newly adopted deaf dog.

Deaf Dogs Rock gets about three adoption listings and two to three requests for help daily. Check out Deaf Dogs Rock’s Facebook page to learn more about deaf dogs and deaf dogs in need of help.

“A deaf dog is just like any other dog,” Christina says. “It’s a dog first, breed second and deaf third.”

A new life for Norman

Norman has learned just about every command through hand signals. Photography courtesy Susan Johnson.

Eventually they found him. The animal control officers thought he was deaf, and they did informal testing at the shelter, making noises and banging dog bowls. Norman didn’t respond.

Andrea started working with him on a regular basis and went on to teach him with hand signals: stay, down, come, give paw and thumbs up for “good boy.”

Bringing a deaf dog into your life

With time, patience and perseverance, the two dogs ended up being buddies, often napping together. Kozy passed away in 2016, and Norman is now the king of the household.

Educated in dog training, Andrea trains for clients and still volunteers at the shelter. You can follow Norman’s (aka NormButt) daily antics and adventures on Instagram.

How to help deaf dogs

Think about adopting a deaf dog, as they can be easily overlooked and thought of as being difficult to train. You can see from both of these stories that deaf dogs make wonderful pets.

Have your own deaf dog? Make him a deaf-dog influencer on social media or locally in your community to show people that they make wonderful pets — and are just regular dogs after all.

Find out if your local animal shelter works with any organizations that help with deaf dogs. Let staff know about organizations like Deaf Dogs Rock and Deaf Dogs Rescue of America.

Read more dog news on Dogster.com:

That Dood Squad: The Ultimate Photoshoot of Doodles

Sirius and Mercury: The Unlikely Friendship Between a Dog and a Miniature Horse

A Pro’s Advice on Starting Your Pet-Sitting and Dog-Walking Business

0 notes

daddyslittlejuliet · 6 years

Text

What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs

Christina Lee and Deaf Dogs Rock

Not only was Nitro — who is now 8 — one of Christina’s first foster failures, but he is the reason she started Deaf Dogs Rock.

Deaf Dog Rocks became an official nonprofit organization in 2014 and has since been raising money to help deaf dogs get out of shelters, into foster care and eventually adopted.

What to know about living with a deaf dog

Thinking about adopting a deaf dog? “Spend some time on our website,” says Christina. “We have a tremendous amount of information on how to properly care for your newly adopted deaf dog.

Deaf Dogs Rock gets about three adoption listings and two to three requests for help daily. Check out Deaf Dogs Rock’s Facebook page to learn more about deaf dogs and deaf dogs in need of help.

“A deaf dog is just like any other dog,” Christina says. “It’s a dog first, breed second and deaf third.”

A new life for Norman

Norman has learned just about every command through hand signals. Photography courtesy Susan Johnson.

Eventually they found him. The animal control officers thought he was deaf, and they did informal testing at the shelter, making noises and banging dog bowls. Norman didn’t respond.

Andrea started working with him on a regular basis and went on to teach him with hand signals: stay, down, come, give paw and thumbs up for “good boy.”

Bringing a deaf dog into your life

With time, patience and perseverance, the two dogs ended up being buddies, often napping together. Kozy passed away in 2016, and Norman is now the king of the household.

Educated in dog training, Andrea trains for clients and still volunteers at the shelter. You can follow Norman’s (aka NormButt) daily antics and adventures on Instagram.

How to help deaf dogs

Think about adopting a deaf dog, as they can be easily overlooked and thought of as being difficult to train. You can see from both of these stories that deaf dogs make wonderful pets.

Have your own deaf dog? Make him a deaf-dog influencer on social media or locally in your community to show people that they make wonderful pets — and are just regular dogs after all.

Find out if your local animal shelter works with any organizations that help with deaf dogs. Let staff know about organizations like Deaf Dogs Rock and Deaf Dogs Rescue of America.

Read more dog news on Dogster.com:

That Dood Squad: The Ultimate Photoshoot of Doodles

Sirius and Mercury: The Unlikely Friendship Between a Dog and a Miniature Horse

A Pro’s Advice on Starting Your Pet-Sitting and Dog-Walking Business

0 notes

grublypetcare · 6 years

Text

What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs

The post What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs by Nancy Hassel appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

Christina Lee and Deaf Dogs Rock

Not only was Nitro — who is now 8 — one of Christina’s first foster failures, but he is the reason she started Deaf Dogs Rock.

Deaf Dog Rocks became an official nonprofit organization in 2014 and has since been raising money to help deaf dogs get out of shelters, into foster care and eventually adopted.

What to know about living with a deaf dog

Thinking about adopting a deaf dog? “Spend some time on our website,” says Christina. “We have a tremendous amount of information on how to properly care for your newly adopted deaf dog.

Deaf Dogs Rock gets about three adoption listings and two to three requests for help daily. Check out Deaf Dogs Rock’s Facebook page to learn more about deaf dogs and deaf dogs in need of help.

“A deaf dog is just like any other dog,” Christina says. “It’s a dog first, breed second and deaf third.”

A new life for Norman

Norman has learned just about every command through hand signals. Photography courtesy Susan Johnson.

Eventually they found him. The animal control officers thought he was deaf, and they did informal testing at the shelter, making noises and banging dog bowls. Norman didn’t respond.

Andrea started working with him on a regular basis and went on to teach him with hand signals: stay, down, come, give paw and thumbs up for “good boy.”

Bringing a deaf dog into your life

With time, patience and perseverance, the two dogs ended up being buddies, often napping together. Kozy passed away in 2016, and Norman is now the king of the household.

Educated in dog training, Andrea trains for clients and still volunteers at the shelter. You can follow Norman’s (aka NormButt) daily antics and adventures on Instagram.

How to help deaf dogs

Think about adopting a deaf dog, as they can be easily overlooked and thought of as being difficult to train. You can see from both of these stories that deaf dogs make wonderful pets.

Have your own deaf dog? Make him a deaf-dog influencer on social media or locally in your community to show people that they make wonderful pets — and are just regular dogs after all.

Find out if your local animal shelter works with any organizations that help with deaf dogs. Let staff know about organizations like Deaf Dogs Rock and Deaf Dogs Rescue of America.

Read more dog news on Dogster.com:

That Dood Squad: The Ultimate Photoshoot of Doodles

Sirius and Mercury: The Unlikely Friendship Between a Dog and a Miniature Horse

A Pro’s Advice on Starting Your Pet-Sitting and Dog-Walking Business

The post What to Know About Helping (or Adopting!) Deaf Dogs by Nancy Hassel appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

0 notes