''Best Friend Forgotten'' is a 2004 American documentary film about

pet overpopulation In some countries there is an overpopulation of pets such as cats, dogs, and exotic animals. In the United States, six to eight million animals are brought to shelters each year, of which an estimated three to four million are subsequently euthani ...

. The documentary, hosted by

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...

( ''Californication'', '' X-files''), tells the stories of Oreo the cat and Clover the dog as they face the realities of pet overpopulation. Viewers are given a balanced look at the controversial practice of

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

and the alternative no-kill movement. Interviews discuss common myths about

spaying Neutering, from the Latin ''neuter'' ('of neither sex'), is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The male-specific term is castration, while spaying is usually reserved for female animals. ...

and

neutering Neutering, from the Latin ''neuter'' ('of neither sex'), is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The male-specific term is castration, while spaying is usually reserved for female animals. ...

, and leaders from government to

animal rights groups This list of animal rights groups consists of groups in the animal rights movement. Such animal rights groups work towards their ideals, which include the viewpoint that animals should have equivalent rights to humans, such as not being "used" in ...

discuss pet overpopulation and the impact on our society.

Creators

The documentary was written, directed, and produced by filmmaker Julie Lofton. In addition to a US theatrical run, the film aired nationally on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, was shown worldwide on TV, and is available in

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. In 2005 Lofton won the prestigious

Genesis Award The Genesis Awards are awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by the HSUS ...

for Best National

Documentary from the

Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

, the largest animal protection organization in the US. Following the film, Lofton was recruited by

HSUS The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

to spearhead the creation of their first TV/Film division: Animal Content in Entertainment (ACE), whose mission is to develop and support animal content in television and film. Each year ACE awards production grants to professional and student documentary filmmakers who highlight animal rights issues in short and feature-length films.

References

External links

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''Best Friend Forgotten''

feature article
David Duchovny Hosts New Film About Abandoned Pets
O'Bryanville Animal Rescue * * 2004 films American documentary films Documentary films about animal rights 2004 documentary films Documentary films about dogs Pets in the United States Films about pets 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Documentary films about cats {{nature-documentary-film-stub