COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.– A production crew from Southern Colorado is hoping to help save dogs around the world. Shelter Island Films is teaming up with a local family to try to put an end to puppy mills by creating a documentary called ‘A Voice for Lil' Olive.'
Little Olive didn't have an easy life like most family dogs. In fact, it wasn't until the last 3 years of her life that she felt love at all.
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"She was extremely afraid of human contact, human touch. She had a lot of physical issues," Olive's owner Pam Horton said.
Olive spent nearly 13 years in a puppy mill where she gave birth to over 20 litters. Every day she suffered from a crushed trachea, a broken tail, hip damage, and tumors until the operation was shut down and she was adopted by Horton.
"Once she got here and after the few months of her getting used to us, she was just the happiest dog on the planet," Horton said.
So she decided to start a Facebook page to educate people about puppy mills, and it caught on like wildfire.
"I made it so that Olive would be the one talking and typing, and so I kind of gave her her own words," Horton said.
And Lil' Olive's voice inspired director Pete Schuermann and his wife Ashley.
"I had done all kinds of different films and projects over the years, and this just seemed much more close to home and something really important to us," Schuermann said.
But he says they want to do this documentary differently, in a way that he feels will make the biggest impact. By featuring little Olive, who passed away in September.
"This is a gentle enough way to talk about the subject that people can relate to. It's such a great mirror opposite of Pam and her family, how she treats these dogs, as opposed to the way the mill system works," Schuermann said.
"The abuse and the neglect that occurs in these places is horrendous," Horton said. "We want to show them what puppy mills are without scaring them."
They say thousands of dogs are suffering in puppy mills around the world, but they hope this documentary will change that.
"Plain and simple, we're hoping that the film will put an end to puppy mills," Schuermann said. "A documentary film is one of the best ways to raise awareness in the country. Take a look at Sea World with the film Blackfish or McDonalds with Supersize Me. We really want to take this film to a very, very high level."
Schuermann says they've already raised thousands of dollars to start production and several celebrities have jumped on board.
And they say they're hopeful the support for such a small soul will grow larger every day.
"I think we as human beings owe it to the animals in this world to treat them as kindly as possible," Horton said. "If they can turn around and trust me after however many years they were in the mill, that's amazing. It's an amazing feeling and so really, they've done way more for me than I've done or ever could do for them."
Shelter Island Films is hoping to raise more money before production can begin this summer.
If you'd like to donate, you can check out their Facebook page or website athttp://avoiceforlilolive.com/support/
They hope to have the film finished by January 1st.