Underbelly is a feature documentary investigating the mass production system at the heart of the $3.1B U.S. dog breeding industry.
Every year, millions of dogs are bred in puppy mills and then sold to unsuspecting buyers as “purebred” puppies. Hidden from view are their true origins, the conditions in which they are raised, and what happens when they cannot be sold. It is an industry built on deception.
Underbelly follows an undercover investigator tracing the supply chain from breeder to broker to pet store, and ultimately to where the consequences land. In the end, the film reveals both what the industry works to conceal and a solution hiding in plain sight.
Without consumers’ money, the system collapses.
Our story begins with high-volume commercial breeding facilities, commonly known as puppy mills. Here, dogs are confined in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, with minimal veterinary care and no meaningful socialization. In such environments, animals face an increased risk of disease, injury, and premature death.
Puppy mills primarily sell through pet stores, first moving the animals through intermediaries that effectively obscure their point of origin. These brokers aggregate litters from multiple breeders and deliver them to retail storefronts where they’re sold to consumers as purebred puppies. Pet stores often assure customers that their dogs don’t come from puppy mills. Yet animal welfare groups estimate that roughly 90% of puppies sold in pet stores are sourced from puppy mills.
This is not an accident. It’s the business model.
Our guide through this world is Pete Paxton, an undercover investigator who has spent more than two decades infiltrating USDA-licensed breeding operations. Working inside facilities most consumers will never see, Paxton documents conditions firsthand and gathers evidence to inform the public.
Underbelly tracks an active investigation. Undercover footage, whistleblower accounts, and public records reveal a coordinated supply chain operating just below the surface. As each lead unfolds, the film moves from hidden facilities to retail storefronts to the shelters absorbing the fallout.
Paxton’s grit and moral clarity give the film its engine. His work transforms an abstract economic machine into a human story of deception, consequence and pursuit.
Pete Paxton gathers evidence in the field.
Paxton’s work, though often solitary, connects to a broader national effort. Across the country, advocates, rescues, policy leaders and regular people have been working for decades to challenge the system from every angle. Underbelly documents that broader fight.
From legislative efforts to restrict puppy sales, to courtroom battles and public campaigns, reform efforts confront a well-funded industry determined to protect its profits. Lawsuits, lobbying and misinformation are all part of the landscape. So is persistence.
J.P. Goodwin directs Humane World for Animals’ Stop Puppy Mills campaign.
All the while, shelters and rescues absorb the consequences of puppy mill overproduction. Each year, hundreds of thousands of dogs are euthanized in U.S. shelters, even as millions more are bred for profit. Dedicated volunteers and professionals work to save as many animals as they can, rarely keeping pace with the steady inflow. Under-resourced and understaffed, they continue to fight in the face of impossible odds. Their labor is emotional, exhausting, and essential.
Without broad public awareness, the system that overwhelms them will remain intact.
Whitney Krall of AJK Rescue receives a shipment of puppies slated to be euthanized.
Investigative storytelling has long shaped public understanding of harmful systems operating beyond scrutiny. Underbelly is built in that tradition and designed for today’s marketplace.
The film adopts the pacing and structure of an investigative thriller, grounding complex policy and supply-chain dynamics in the lived experience of a tenacious investigator. Rather than presenting a lecture on animal welfare, it follows an active undercover investigation. The result is a story that is not only sobering, but compelling and sharable.
This approach is deliberate. In a crowded media environment, films that reach wide audiences are those that engage first and inform deeply. True crime is the dominant form. By anchoring the narrative to Paxton’s work in the field, the film transforms an abstract system into a human story with stakes, momentum, and clarity.
Long before this film was conceived, investigators, advocates, and rescue professionals have made tremendous progress against puppy mill breeding. Underbelly is designed to amplify that work, translating years of research, policy battle, and frontline labor into a popular format capable of reaching audiences far beyond the existing base of support.
Independent films do not break through by accident. They succeed if and when they connect with their audience well before release.
Underbelly exists because there are already legions of people across the country working to end puppy mill breeding. These people have built a movement. If this film successfully leverages that movement, it can reach millions more.
By subscribing, sharing our work and connecting this project with others who care deeply about this issue, you can help transform this film into a vehicle for national awareness. If this resonates with you, we invite you to join us and help extend our reach.