Underbelly is a feature documentary investigating the mass production system at the heart of the $3.1B U.S. dog breeding industry.
The film documents the breeders, brokers and retailers responsible for overproducing dogs by the millions, and the resulting euthanasia of hundreds of thousands more in U.S. shelters every year.
Styled as an investigative thriller, Underbelly follows an undercover investigator, policy advocates and rescues as they challenge the machinery responsible for this crisis, ultimately pointing to a solution lying hidden in the hands of the American consumer.
Our guide through this world is Pete Paxton, a legendary undercover investigator who’s spent more than two decades infiltrating USDA-licensed breeding operations. Through Paxton’s investigations, we unveil the “puppy mill pipeline,” a network of breeders, brokers, and retailers that secretly move puppies from high-volume mills to suburban pet stores and, eventually, to overcrowded shelters. His tenacity, compassion, and relentless investigative drive offers a rare look inside a system built to hide itself and deceive consumers, always in the name of profit.
Paxton’s investigations lead us to a national chain of pet stores allegedly selling mill-bred puppies. Undercover footage, whistleblower accounts, and USDA records point to a coordinated effort to mislead customers and conceal ties to inhumane breeders.
Supporting these investigations and leading a broader policy push is the Human World for Animals (formerly known as the Humane Society of the United States). HWA’s J.P. Goodwin directs their national Stop Puppy Mills Campaign and provides Underbelly with strategic insight on federal, state, and local efforts to end puppy mill breeding. They lead us a multi-year battle unfolding in Wichita, Kansas, where the HWA their partners lead a campaign to ban retail puppy sales. This strategy that has been incredibly effective in undercutting the market for puppy mill puppies and the pet stores that sell them.
In Wichita, like many places across the country, local pet stores compete to sell as many dogs as they can, even while the city’s shelters are overrun, strays run rampant, and dogs are euthanized at staggering rates. Residents have had enough, and an iniative to ban the commercial sale of puppies has overwhelming public support. But for the pet industry, big money is on the line, and we see concerted efforts to maintain the the status quo. Lawsuits, misinformation campaigns and lobbyists are all in play, effectively working city councils, courthouses and state capitals to stifle the will of the people and keep the cash flowing.
Meanwhile in Austin, TX, Whitney Krall of AJK Rescue scans the statewide euthanasia list, saving however many dogs she can through her network of fosters. Her work is emotional, relentless and never quite enough to stem the tide. But it was enough for Pickles, a dog adopted through Whitney’s network. Pickles’ story offers a heartwarming example of adoption, framing it not as charity, but as the best option for most families seeking a dog.
Underbelly explores themes of systemic cruelty, cultural complicity, and consumer deception. In the end, it’s a hopeful film with a powerful call to action: With millions of dogs entering U.S. homes each year, a 15% consumer shift from purchase to adoption would end the needless annual euthanasia of hundreds of thousands of dogs and disincentivize further puppy mill breeding.
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