CAPS is known for its professional production of undercover pet shop and puppy mill videos, documentaries, PSAs and more
CAPS’ unrelenting work pace has not slowed down this summer. Our undercover investigators went to pet shops in Michigan and Texas. We also investigated more than a dozen puppy mills in Indiana and Ohio, recording undercover footage to prove that the pet shops they supply are misleading customers about the mills’ conditions. CAPS President Deborah Howard interviewed more subjects for our upcoming documentaries on California’s municipal shelters and Kern County’s animal cruelty crisis. And CAPS continued helping at-risk dogs at Kern County Animal Services, in Bakersfield, CA, bringing the number of lives we’ve saved there to almost 270.
All of these initiatives—along with many others CAPS has in-progress—have something in common: the importance of videos to all of our efforts.
The Power of Video
For better or worse, many people today would rather get information from a video clip than from a page of text. Videos are compelling, easy to digest, and can quickly connect the dots of an issue. When a CAPS video shows a pet shop employee saying “none of our puppies come from mills,” we can immediately cut to undercover footage at that pet shop’s actual breeding facilities, revealing filthy dogs living in feces-filled cages. That kind of visual is powerful and effective, but it takes months of planning and hard work.
At CAPS, video production is integral to all of our work. And it has become one of the accomplishments for which we’re best known. To help shed some light on our video production, I’ll explain the process from beginning to end, using recent videos as examples, in addition to a few highly successful video campaigns.
An Investigation of Michigan Pet Shops
In August, CAPS released its latest video exposé, showing the results of our undercover investigation of Michigan’s 13 puppy-selling pet shops. Like all of our videos, this one began with detailed research—in this case of all the pet shops. Then CAPS’ lead investigator went to the pet shops with a hidden camera. He questioned the employees about the sources of the stores’ puppies, and the breeding conditions there, trying to get as many breeder names as possible, adding to the names we had already documented.
The lead investigator subsequently went undercover to breeding facilities that supply the Michigan stores with puppies. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, his video footage revealed these facilities to be puppy mills.
CAPS’ video producer next spent dozens of hours going through the footage and finding the relevant information to craft it into a cohesive narrative. The finished exposé starkly reveals the lies told at the pet shops, thus proving the pet shop/puppy mill connection.
CAPS will use this video exposé as part of our outreach to Michigan legislators so that they will pass statewide retail ban legislation. The CAPS Investigator’s Journal blog, which also has the video, describes the investigations of Michigan pet shops and the Indiana and Ohio Amish mills supplying them.
Documentaries
For our short documentaries, the production process is similar to our exposés but includes additional work. A CAPS filmmaker shoots interviews and footage to tell the story, and music and graphics play a greater role. Examples include documentaries we are currently making about California’s municipal shelters and Kern County animal cruelty, plus our recently released documentary about online puppy sales.
Dog Broker Exposés
CAPS’ compelling videos are critical for spreading awareness about the entire breeding industry, which includes brokers, the middlemen between breeders and pet shops. One such exposé is about the CAPS investigation of J.A.K.’s Puppies and some of the breeders that supply this large broker in Iowa.
Inside a Kitten Mill
In 2015, an undercover CAPS investigator shot video footage inside of a USDA-licensed kitten mill owned by Claudia Obermiller. It was the first time anyone had ever recorded such a video, which showed shocking levels of neglect and abuse. The resulting exposé became one of our most widely-seen. Based on our evidence, the USDA fined Obermiller and then terminated her license. Without the CAPS video, she would have continued abusing cats with impunity.
Kathy Bauck Documentary
Another critical project was our documentary about a CAPS investigator working undercover at the facility of Minnesota-based breeder and broker Kathy Bauck. Her puppy mill had 900 adult dogs and 400 puppies living in horrific, abusive conditions. Based on our evidence, she was convicted of animal cruelty and banned from breeding. A CAPS filmmaker traveled to Minnesota, Boston, and Washington, D.C., shooting interviews for the film, which was shared extensively online.
PSAs, Social Media, and More
CAPS has made numerous PSAs, including our most recent, about spaying and neutering, which is in English and Spanish. Currently, it’s airing on more than 150 TV and radio stations in 30 states and territories and on one national cable station.
Our video work also features heavily on CAPS’ social media. We use these videos to help generate traditional news stories, too, from local news to Dateline to CNN. And our videos are often critical pieces of evidence in lawsuits, such as the one CAPS just won against Puppy Heaven, a pet shop and online seller of teacup puppies.
Please donate today to help us fund our crucial video production work. Millions of companion animals are currently suffering in inhumane breeding conditions and shelters. With your assistance, we can make real changes and put an end to this intolerable cycle of animal abuse.
