The diligent yeoman’s work done by Merced’s New Beginnings, in saving the lives of local animals, is about to be revealed to a much wider audience.
New Beginning’s volunteers, who work in tandem with other nonprofits and government agencies to find loving homes nationwide for Merced County’s stray animals, were recently visited by a crew of filmmakers making a documentary on the topic of animal transport while spreading awareness about adoption.
Founded in 2004, New Beginnings works in coordination with other groups and government agencies to fly and transport unadopted animals to other states where there is a higher likelihood they will find new homes.
Sharon Lohman, founder and president of New Beginnings, told The Merced FOCUS the film crew spent a total of six days with the nonprofit’s volunteers.
She also said the documentary, once completed, is expected to stream on Netflix. The film is being produced by RandomGood Films and is expected to be released within the next eight months.
“I feel grateful,” Lohman told The FOCUS, when asked about her experience with the film crew. “One of the things they were amazed (about) is we have done this for 21 years and we are all volunteers.”
Lohman said the crew filmed her group working alongside nonprofits like Kitsap Humane Society in Washington and Los Angeles-based Wings of Rescue with the mission of saving dogs in need of homes.
One of those dogs included “Grace,” a great pyrenees who was found injured in Merced’s Loughborough area, with a bullet wound to the head. The crew chronicled how New Beginnings worked to help find a loving home for Grace, who now lives with a family in Kitsap.
There’s also Percy, a pit bull-mix who came close to being euthanized because no one showed interest in adopting the dog. Percy was also saved after a caring animal lover was found.
The crew followed Lohman around at her home and spotlighted all of the legwork that goes into transporting and saving animals. That included taking animals to health checks and visiting Franklin Elementary School, where kindergarten students raised more than $4,000 to benefit the organization.
“They were everywhere all the time. They did it all,” Lohman said of the camera crew. “They wanted to see everything that went into a transport and the overabundance of dogs out there.”
A release date for the documentary has not been set. Lohman said the documentary is a television pilot. If it does well, the filmmakers plan on doing six more shows.
Lohman’s nonprofit was featured in a Merced FOCUS story last year about how Merced County was experiencing a surge in unwanted animals, and how folks like New Beginnings were stepping up to address the issue.
Lohman says New Beginnings has also raised about $730,000 so far, with the goal of building a low-cost spay/neuter clinic. The organization already has the land for the building, and needs between $4 million to $5 million to make the clinic a reality.
For information about how to financially support that effort, visit the New Beginnings website, and specify the donation is going toward the spay/neuter clinic.
