BLACK BEAUTY BREED - The best documentary film ever made about Rottweilers

If you came upon this blog because you love Rottweilers as I do or were just curious about this magnificent, noble and misunderstood breed then I have an excellent suggestion for you. Last year a professional filmmaker in Hollywood named Angie Ruiz produced and directed a documentary about Rottweilers that you must see. The name of the film is Black Beauty Breed, and it had its premier in Los Angeles at the ArcLight Hollywood theater on June 12, 2014. I just finished watching the DVD copy that I purchased from the producer.

Go here and place your order http://blackbeautybreedstore.com/collections/dvds/dvd  You will be glad that you did.

The documentary is currently on a worldwide tour and was most recently shown in three cities in Australia. The DVD is available for sale worldwide in NTSC format which can be played on most DVD players that also use the PAL format.

Angie Ruiz and Samson

Angie Ruiz fell in love with Rottweilers the same way I did, with a rescued Rottweiler in need of a home. She was asked to transport a Rottie puppy to a Rescue group but instead she discovered she could not let it go. If you are reading this Angie please know that I have been telling people for years that they are truly Thief of Hearts. From that day in 2007, Angie Ruiz decided she had to tell their story using her skills as a documentary filmmaker.  

This documentary covers every aspect of Rottweiler life from birth, to training to competitions to work as therapy dogs, K-9 and Search and Rescue dogs. The coverage is meticulous and thorough and tears apart the bad reputation heaped upon this breed by biased, sensationalist news stories. In the film I learned for the first time that the first Search and Rescue dogs at the World Trade Center on 9-11-2001 were a team of Rottweilers. From there the film follows each of the noble traits and qualities this breed possesses. My writing skills cannot do justice for this wonderful work so let me show you a story originally published in the Porterville Recorder.    

The following newspaper story is reprinted with permission from the author.

Award-winning documentary touring the world

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Angie Ruiz, Mark Terbeek and Isla Terbeek

 Angie Ruiz, director and producer of Black Beauty Breed, a documentary about the positive character traits of Rottweilers, is seen with her husband, Mark Terbeek, and daughter, Isla Terbeek. Ruiz is on a film tour in Portugal and will be traveling to London and Scotland before returning to Los Angeles. Ruiz’ parents, grandparents and other family members, live in Porterville.

Posted: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 8:35 am

By ESTHER AVILA eavila@porterevillerecorder.com

Film producer/editor has Porterville ties
A feature-length documentary about Rottweilers and their positive attributes has earned a woman with Porterville connections several awards, including a Best Documentary award at a film festival in Charlottesville, Va.

The film, Black Beauty Breed, has been touring the nation and world, said film producer/editor Angie Ruiz via telephone from Portugal. She will travel to London and Scotland next before returning to Los Angeles.

Her first feature-length documentary and directorial debut, the film will be scheduled for the Central Valley in the near future.

“I made this film from the heart about something I believe in. Even though the film is about the Rottweiler, the themes of the film are universal — loyalty, resilience, friendship and hard work,” Ruiz said. “The film showcases their little-known versatility as search-and-rescue dogs and therapy dogs, and their success in dog sports — agility, nose work, carting and herding. And for the first time ever, audiences can see the Rottweiler Search and Rescue dogs deployed to Ground Zero in the days following 9/11.”

Her inspiration for the film came in 2007 after rescuing a Rottweiler, Samsun, from a Porterville family who could not keep him.

“He was 9 months old and I offered to pick him up and drive him to The Rottweiler Rescue of Los Angeles. On the drive from Porterville to Los Angeles, I saw how sad he was to leave his family and my heart just melted. At that moment, I made a decision to rescue him myself,” Ruiz said. “I was inspired to make the documentary because it is the film that I would have liked to seen when I rescued Samson. I didn’t know anything about the breed at the time and information was not readily available.”

Internet searches yielded negative stories about the breed, she said, and she wanted people to get a full picture of the breed.

“I made the film because I knew firsthand how wonderful this breed can be if given structure, a loving home and a positive training environment,” Ruiz said.

The film premiered June 12 to a packed audience at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood. Several local family members attended, including Ruiz’s mother, Lupe Ruiz, formerly of Porterville, her aunt Josie Garcia Sandoval, cousin Teneha Sandoval, and her brother, George Ruiz of Clovis.

“We enjoyed the personal accounts from all the Rottweiler owners in the film,” Garcia Sandoval said. “They spoke about the Rottweilers being search-and-rescue dogs during September 11. This fact is not well known, so it was surprising to hear.”

Garcia Sandoval said she also enjoyed the story of how a Rottweiler helped a young girl come out of a coma after a tragic hit-and-run accident.

“This portion was truly emotional,” Garcia Sandoval said. “I’m proud of Angie for contacting and gaining the trust of these fellow Rottweiler lovers and for producing this film to truly educate us about Rottweilers.”

Teneha Sandoval agreed.

“Large dog breeds, such as the Rottweiler, are often misunderstood and assumed to be dangerous animals on their own. When in reality, their temperament is result of its owner’s training,” Teneha Sandoval said. “This film brings light to the fact that the Rottweiler is a loving and intelligent breed who, with proper training, can be remarkable pets, rescuers and rehabilitation service dogs.”

Ruiz, who has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, has worked in the entertainment industry for 14 years, first starting as an actress. She bought her first DSL camera when she volunteered in East Africa, where she made short documentaries of the Maasai, and enjoyed filming the Serengeti wildlife. The experiences led her to create her own production company, Wandering Films.

Ruiz is the daughter of Lupe Ruiz of Salinas, formerly of Porterville, and a granddaughter of the late Josefina and Gilberto Garcia, and the late Sally and Frank Loyola, all of Porterville.

Ruiz lives with her husband Mark Terbeek, and daughters, Isla and Edie, in West Hollywood.

“It has been amazing to see the audience response to the film,” Ruiz said. “Who knew that Rottweilers were so loved by people around the world.”

Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1045. Follow her on Twitter @Avila_recorder.

Followup 2-13-2015

This documentary is listed on the Internet Movie Database web site. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3384354/ I am not the only one who found this movie so enjoyable. The film currently has a 5 reviews and a rating of 9.1 out of 10. I just added my own comments.

Reviews & Ratings for

Black Beauty Breed More at IMDbPro »

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The most beautiful documentary ever made about Rottweilers

Author: AbbyD-1 from United States
13 February 2015 *** This review may contain spoilers ***

I have owned 7 Rottweilers over the past 20 years and currently live with three of them. I first came upon this breed in much the same way as Angie Ruiz did, by adopting one that needed a home. Angie Ruiz is a professional filmmaker who directed and produced this documentary and she did an exceptional job of showing the inner qualities of this magnificent breed. From love to devotion to intelligence to character strength this often misunderstood canine stands well above all others. I just finished watching the DVD of this film that I purchased from their web site. From the very first days I became acquainted with Rottweilers I quickly learned they were truly Thief of Hearts and as Angie Ruiz pointed out in the commentary on the DVD she was asked to transport a 9-month old Rottie puppy to a Rottweiler Rescue group and before she got there she decided to adopt him, herself.

From that beginning the documentary shows many aspects of Rottweiler training for competitive sports as agility and carting but then goes into how this breed is ideally suited for K-9 police work, Search and Rescue and even Therapy work in hospitals. The most touching sequence was the Rottweiler who aided a comatose accident patient regain consciousness.

Angie Ruiz said in the film interview, "I made this film from the heart about something I believe in. Even though the film is about the Rottweiler, the themes of the film are universal — loyalty, resilience, friendship and hard work," And the film has received several awards, including a Best Documentary award at a film festival in Charlottesville, Va.

As a Rottweiler owner I congratulate Angie on doing such a fine job with this film. Anyone who owns a Rottweiler or is curious about this breed should search out and find a copy of the DVD or catch it in a theater. It is currently on a worldwide tour and recently was shown in three cities in Australia.