SMART: Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team (Guest Post) #BtC4A

When people ask me about my favorite rescue in my feature-length documentary SMART: Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team, they assume the answer’s going to be something big. The deer in Pee-Wee Herman’s backyard? Airlifting the horse from the dam? Surely, the mountain lion in the basement?

The answer, surprisingly enough, is a kitten in a basement.

First, check out the trailer:

You back? Great. Pretty cool, right?

My team and I spent 3 years in the field with SMART. We lived, breathed and bled with them. But they truly figured out who I was early on, in a house with true Hollywood pedigree. Yes, this rescue could only have occurred in the City of  Los Angeles.

SMART team lead Armando Navarrete was in the attic, his flashlight beam sweeping across insulation and wood. The owners thought the kitten was up there, but although we could hear the little thing, it was nowhere to be found.

I shimmied downstairs and ran outside, making sure I was on the same side of the house Armando was. And then I heard it. The kitten was crying beneath the house, and the sound was racing up the wall to the attic.

I told Armando to come on down, and then I almost went in to grab the kitten. I think that’s when they figured out that I was truly invested in their work. That I got it. Me, leading my small crew, determined to tell their story… and I almost ruined my own shoot to go get that little critter.

Armando with Kitten
Photo Courtesy of Justin Zimmerman, Director of SMART

Of course the properly trained and incredibly talented Armando Navarrete did his thing and saved the day, and that kitten rescue is an important part of the documentary. But the end of the story hasn’t ever been told before. Until now.

Because in true Hollywood fashion, the owner of the home was in the classic Planet of the Apes. He sprayed down Chuck Heston with a water cannon, in fact. And Planet of the Apes is Armando’s favorite movie from his childhood.

From Planet of The Apes
Photo Courtesy of Justin Zimmerman, Director of SMART

Mind. Blown.

So it wasn’t the dog over the cliff or the 50-foot fall or even the pelican water rescue that stands out to me the most. My favorite rescue is a kitten, alone in the dark, crying out for help so loudly that it sounds like it’s coming from the attic. And the need to go in and get it out, no matter what, running through me.

Armando with kitten
Photo Courtesy of Justin Zimmerman, Director of SMART

Movies. Documentaries. LA. It all came together in SMART, and now the film is live on Amazon and more for all to see. I hope you have time to watch and review it, and I hope it galvanizes everyone who sees it to help. To volunteer, to adopt a shelter animal, to have their pets spayed, neutered and microchipped. You know the score.

Because you don’t have to jump out of a helicopter to be an animal rescuer.

Justin Zimmerman, Director

Everything SMART: www.SMARTMovieDoc.com

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From Cat Chat With Caren and Cody: We were not compensated for sharing this guest post.