Filmmaker Gorman Bechard has long expressed his love for man’s best friend in documentaries like A Dog Named Gucci and Seniors A Dogumentary, and for his third venture into the world of animal welfare he has trained his lens on one of the most beloved animal sanctuaries on the planet: the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary of Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary was started in 2011 as Zina and Michael Goodin recognized that elder dogs were often abandoned and those in shelters rarely adopted. Much like their human counterparts, seniors often need extra care, extra patience, and extra love. So, the couple set out to save just one dog, and that profound experience quickly led to another. Soon it became their mission.
Old Friends, A Dogumentary follows their story from humble beginnings as a small home-based shelter to the Facebook phenomenon they’ve become, and their move into a brand new 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility.
“The film was born at the world premiere of Seniors A Dogumentary in Nashville,” explains director Bechard, whose film A Dog Named Gucci earned the 2015 ASPCA Media Excellence Award. “Zina told me about their new facility, and how they were going to shut down the road, and have a senior dog parade marching the geezers, as the folks at Old Friends call them, from their old home to the new building. As a filmmaker who loves dogs, how could I not film a senior dog parade?”
Part of what sets the sanctuary apart from other shelters is their extraordinary veterinary staff. The film documents the arrival of dogs Hugh and Sweat Pea, both seniors with severe medical issues. For these two dogs, Old Friends was their last chance. Over the course of six months, we see their progress, their challenges, and ultimately their triumph as their tails begin to wag once again…all because of a group of dedicated doctors, technicians, and volunteers determined to give these dogs a second chance at life. As Zina likes to say, Old Friends is “a place where love never grows old.”
The feature documentary will be released as a deluxe BluRay/DVD combo and on pay-per-view platforms on December 13th. The physical copy features several extras, including the complete Geezer Parade, opening day ribbon-cutting festivities at the new facility, and the Q&A session with Bechard and several of the film’s participants from the world premiere at the historic Franklin Theatre in April.
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