Susie's Hope Giveaway and Review

We see it happening more and more and often times graphic images of abused animals find their way onto our Facebook feeds. We see the commercials with Sara McLauglin's song In the Arms of the Angel, tied to the humane society commercials. But what matters more is how we respond to those images. It's simply too easy to change the channels or bypass the images as if we never saw them. The ones of animals that have become the voiceless victims of horrible crimes.

Left for dead, these animals are beaten, trained as bait for fights, burned and disfigured with a pretty dark outlook for their future. Some can be rehabilitated, but sadly most are simply put down because the costs for their medical care is beyond what some counties and states can provide. Local volunteers often fund raise but there are far too many victims and not enough help.

In the DVD release of Susie's Hope from Stone's Throw Films, the topic of animal abuse and the laws surrounding the issue are the highlight. While this is Dove Family Approved for audiences of 12 and up, the images portrayed in the movie are graphic. This movie was based on the true story of one such case that prompted the law in North Carolina to be rewritten to give harsher sentences to people who commit crimes against animals.

The story is brought to life when Donna Lawrence, (Emmanuell Vaguer, 40 Days and 40 Nights), an animal lover at heart, befriends a neighbor's pit bull who is left alone outside to act as a guard dog chained to a tree. Often left at out night, the barking becomes a nuisance and concern to Donna and her neighbor and best friend Ramona Hodges, (Andrea Powell, Ender's Game, The Twilight: Breaking Dawn Saga: Part 2), who bring the dog food and water. Donna's husband Roy (Burgess Jenkins, Remember the Titans), is concerned for their unborn child that they have waited so long to have. He warns Donna and Ramona to stay away and let Animal Control handle the issue. But seeing the outcome before it happens, Donna is attacked by the pitbull and is left for dead.

In a twist of fate, Donna and Roy learn that the attack has left them with no ability to have future children. Dealing with the effects of the attack, Donna struggles with nightmares and fears of being attacked. She even questions what God's purpose was in her being allowed to survive if she can't have children. When she finds a badly abused puppy left for dead in a park, she finds an outlet not only for her own healing but that of the puppy she names Susie. This is definitely a heart warming story of hope and to bring attention to animal abuse and the laws surrounding the cases of animal cruelty.

I received Susie's Hope by Stone's Throw Films compliments of Fly By Promotions for my honest review. Except for the free copy of the DVD,  I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This is a great movie to highlight the changes that need to be made to ensure that punishments against animal cruelty cases require more than a simple fine and probation, but now include jail time or more for repeat offenders. This gives a voice to those victims of animal abuse everywhere for those that cannot speak for themselves. I think Martin Luther King Jr summed it up best at the conclusion of the movie, "It may be true that the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless." This one deserves all 5 out of 5 stars in this reviewer's opinion. This is a message about love, loss and redemption. A portion of the profits of this movie will go to the American Humane Association. Susie has been named the 2014 American Hero Dog.The DVD runs approximately 105 minutes.

Now the most amazing part, thanks to the generosity of Fly By Promotions, they are offering a giveaway copy of Susie's Hope DVD along with a Susie's Hope bracelet, to one lucky follower of Reviews From The Heart. Here are your guidelines:

1. Be a follower of my blog Reviews From The Heart. 

2. "Like" Susie's Hope on Facebook. 

3. Be a resident of the US or Canada. Please No P.O. Boxes.

4. Leave me a comment below telling me why you'd love to win a copy of this DVD. Don't forget to include your email along with it otherwise I have no way of contacting you if you are the winner of the giveaway. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

I will be emailing the winner of the giveaway when it ends on December 5th. So make sure to spread the word!!

For more information about Susie's Hope the DVD, or how you can help support non profit efforts of Susie's Hope, please click on the links below:

Susie's Hope 

You can find Susie's Hope on Facebook to get more information about the impact this movie and to see Susie, the real dog from the movie!

To purchase a copy of Susie's Hope on DVD, please click here.