A documentary by conservationist Jeff Corwin, which will premiere in a private screening in Stuart Sunday, is about the mounting issues of animal-dumping throughout South Florida and highlights a Martin County shelter.
“Expedition Rescue Mission: Hope” is a 25-minute documentary featuring Nala’s New Life Rescue, which has been in Palm City for 30 years.
“I decided to pursue this documentary because this is a compelling story that has not been told. We’re in the land of sun, the Sunshine State, one of the world’s most celebrated vacation spots treasured for its beaches and tropical beauty,” Corwin emailed TCPalm. “But right under our noses … 30,000 dogs are dumped into the Everglades every year.”
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After the premiere, the documentary eventually will be made public to viewers; however, a distribution plan has not been announced, according to Corwin.
It was filmed over the summer in partnership with the Everglades Animal Coalition. It shows different organizations, such as Nala’s, that work to rescue abandoned dogs.
Nala’s New Life Rescue specializes in rescuing animals around the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee, providing medical treatment and transporting dogs and cats to partner organizations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for adoption. They also have dogs, cats and rabbits up for adoption locally.
“There are not enough spay and neuter programs in South Florida to stop the overpopulation, which is just getting worse and worse every day with the economy and the number of dogs being dumped,” Nala’s New Life Rescue CEO Barbi Moline said. “I get 40 calls a day from people in Port St. Lucie, Stuart and Okeechobee that have no place for their dogs to go.”
Jeff Corwin finds Nala’s New Life Rescue in Palm City
Corwin became aware of the growing number of dogs being abandoned throughout South Florida, particularly around the Homestead and Everglades area in June.
He brought his film crew to Nala’s adoption ranch to highlight the work of transporting dogs to the Northeast for adoption. Nala’s transported over 500 animals to partner facilities last year, Moline said.
Corwin specifically followed a pair of dogs and cats who were transported to Darbster Doggy in New Hampshire. Executive Director Ellen Quinlan and her husband, Alan, own Darbster vegan restaurant in West Palm Beach, and they donate 100% of their profits to their Darbster shelters, according to the restaurant website.
The documentary screening will be at Geoffrey C. Smith Galleries at 4545 S.E. Dixie Highway.
Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X @gonthescene.
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