Documentary Poised to Help Animals on a Global Scale - Launching on Kickstarter

A new Kickstarter campaign for Wag, a collaborative and unprecedented documentary project, brings promise of a happier world for shelter animals. High-profile animal advocacy groups such as Best Friends Animal Society are openly expressing excitement over Wag.

The Scharf Family, a.k.a. "Mutts on a Mission," recently returned from a year-long cross-country journey in an RV, during which they homeschooled in the mornings and volunteered at animal shelters in the afternoons.

They journeyed through 20 states and volunteered at dozens of animal shelters. Mutts on a Mission has developed a strong Facebook community consisting of more than 45,000 animal lovers. They are rolling this momentum into Wag.

The movie will follow the Scharf Family's cross-country journey, shine a light on issues facing shelter animals today, and enlighten the audience about how to be a part of the solution. Wag will feature leaders and influencers in the animal rescue movement, celebrities who use their fame to help animals, unsung heroes and everyday people.

"Wag is very different from other animal documentaries," said Loulie Scharf, lifelong animal advocate and artist, and creator of Wag. "This movie will be upbeat, optimistic and family-friendly. We want to create a feel-good movie, not a hard-to-watch one."

Wag merges animals and art in a collaborative, highly creative manner. Wag is unique in that it is both crowdfunded and crowdsourced, meaning that many people will help fund it, and many people will help create it. Wag will piece together clips submitted from individuals worldwide, with the help of filmmakers worldwide.

"We have all of the ingredients to create a world-changing movie," said Scharf. "This is an unprecedented, community-driven collaboration. Many voices, many perspectives, many styles, all interwoven in a kalaidescopic message of animal advocacy."

The Kickstarter campaign will begin on Wed., Nov. 13 at 8 AM EST and close 32 days later on Dec. 15 at 8 PM EST. The campaign's goal is to raise more than $125,000 to support the production of Wag. Production will take place in 2014, and Wag will be released in 2015.

Kickstarter campaigns offer backers "rewards" in exchange for money. Wag offers its supporters speaking & performance roles in the movie, original pet portraits, collaborative "multi-species artwork," collectible postcard art, associate producer roles, and more.

Many of Wag's rewards are "giftable," so that supporters can actually do their holiday shopping while helping animals. "It's a win-win-win," Scharf said. "The animals benefit, the supporter gets some holiday shopping checked off, and the recipient gets a truly one-of-a-kind, original holiday gift that makes a difference in the world."

The highlight of the Scharfs' yearlong adventure was a month-long volunteering stint at Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah. Best Friends is the largest no-kill animal sanctuary, and the group has openly expressed excitement over Wag.

"Mutts on a Mission" was featured in a six-page spread in Best Friends' July/Aug. magazine. A co-founder of Best Friends, Francis Battista, voiced his support in the Kickstarter video: "We really are excited about the work that Loulie is doing to bring more people into the shelters to volunteer and to save more lives."

The Scharf Family consists of two adults, two kids ages 11 and 13, and eight rescued animals, two of whom were adopted during the journey.

The campaign site features a 5 minute video that highlights scenes from the Scharfs' journey, as well as detailed information about Wag. To see the video and learn more, please visit the Kickstarter campaign here: http://www.wagmovie.com.

"Mutts on a Mission" has a social network of more than 45,000 animal lovers on Facebook. Please find the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mutts-On-A-Mission/102469003229566.