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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.
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