Rescue puppies at an adoption event in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as seen in Free Puppies! (First Run Features)

Every day, I see the same type of pleas pop up in my social media feeds, along the lines of “Urgent! We need fosters in New York for dogs coming up on a transport from Texas!” My email box is similarly filled with requests for donations and horror stories about shelters that do not have the resources to care for sick and injured animals. Sigh. So yes, I do have a passing familiarity with the subject matter of Free Puppies!, an alternately inspiring and infuriating documentary about the efforts of independent rescuers in Southern states to save as many animals as they can, with the “golden ticket” being a ride going up North, where canines have a better chance of being adopted.

But Free Puppies isn’t just about those moments where volunteers wave goodbye to a transport full of dogs hoping to find a better life in states like Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, or Massachusetts. Instead, it focuses more on why those transports are so desperately needed. Directors Samantha Wishman and Christina Thompson ride along with Monda Wooten, Ann Brown, and Ruth Smith, women in Georgia and Tennessee who don’t work for shelters. Rather, they simply realized that no one else was taking care of the struggling strays, neglected, and abused animals of their towns and decided to do it themselves. They represent the uncounted other independent rescuers throughout the region who are trying their best to help these dogs, without any financial aid from their local, county, or state governments.

Wishman and Thomas provide a small amount of narration and bring in a few people from larger groups, such as the ASPCA and the heads of a few rural Southern shelters to put the problem in context, but for most of the film, they stand back and film Wooten, Brown, and Smith at work on the ground as they try to persuade people to hand over their dogs to be spayed/neutered, take calls about dogs in trouble, and talk to local officials about improving shelters. They introduce us to others who are part of the chain of independent animal rescue aid: women who operate a low-cost spay/neuter clinic that runs on such a slim budget they plea for basic funds on Facebook; a vet who drives a mobile spay/neuter van around the South, trying her best to keep up with the unending numbers of animals who need care; and volunteers who work at small, zero-funded rural shelters, their hearts breaking because they can’t save all in their care and, in fact, can save so few.

I will try to restrain my anger at the local and state officials who can’t, or won’t, understand that helping animals will make their communities a better place for humans too. Instead, I will share my admiration for the heroes showcased here who devote their time, their money, and their hearts to saving animals, one at a time. Wooten and the other rescuers are blunt about the challenges they face and the hard decisions they have to make. Who will be saved? What is the best use of their limited time and resources? It’s not shown, but we understand that for every happy ending, there are so many sad ones. Animal rescuers have to find joy in any little victory they can because there is always another battle around the corner.

In Free Puppies!, Wiseman and Thomas get their message across clearly and without turning maudlin or too downbeat. It’s a deeply felt movie that will appeal to those who care about animals, and I hope that they will see it. I also hope those who are not aware of this issue see it and think about how they can bring about change.

Meanwhile, I look at my Instagram feed, and there it is again: We have a transport coming up from Texas on Saturday, and we need fosters….