Rescues - Short Documentary - USA

Rescues examines the emotional and financial impact on animal rescue workers. The documentary follows two women as they help animals find their Forever Homes.

Donna is a hairdresser who runs Susie’s Hope Animal Rescue in Greensboro, NC. With enormous vet bills and an overwhelming desire to help animals, Donna must be in a constant state of fundraising. If donations start to fall off will Donna be able to continue her life’s passion or will she succumb to financial weight as so many other rescue groups have?

Linda lives in Cumming, GA and is a volunteer foster mom for Kodi’s Club Rottweiler Rescue based in Pennsylvania. Linda has just spent nine months rehabilitating Ruger. Now Linda must let go of him so he can finish his journey to his Forever Home. Will she be able to move past this emotionally draining experience and continue her work as a foster parent?

Rescues takes an unflinching look at what it takes to work in this demanding field. Hopefully, the film will raise awareness of the financial and mental health support needs for those in the animal care field.

Whether it was listening to my grandmother regale the family at the dinner table with the tales of some unfortunate relative or a trip to a distant land through the pages of a book, I have always been drawn to stories and storytellers. During my high school years in Wilmington, NC I participated in theatre and forensics.

​I graduated from Western Carolina University with a BA in English. Shortly after that, I obtained my MA in African-American Literature from North Carolina A&T State University. I taught college courses for ten years before returning to school and receiving my MFA in Documentary Film from Wake Forest University. I live in Greensboro, NC with my family and our five rescue dogs.

Director Ed Foster

Director Statement
​Like many of you I assumed that animal rescue work must be a never-ending source of joy. They go into the shelter and pull any number of dogs and cats to shuttle off to waiting, caring families. As with most things assumed, it is entirely wrong. This is one of the hardest jobs in the world. For the most part it is a voluntary occupation that is financially draining and emotionally taxing. Every year volunteers across the US will leave creating a vacuum of need for thousands of animals. It is my hope that this film will raise awareness of the issues facing those who bring us our best friends.

#AniFab judge's aggregate score is 6.7 out of 10 with one judge writing, " A solid effort Ed, welcome to the world of animal rescue story-telling."