Sun Dogs is a documentary about Jamaica's first dog sled team. This film really is about the underdogs. Like Jamaica's first bobsled team, which was featured in the movie, Cool Runnings, people didn’t think it would work. However through perseverance and a lot of gull, one can succeed. The difference between Jamaica’s dogsled team and other countries’ teams is that it consists of all stray dogs. These were dogs that have been rescued from the streets of Kingston, which is considered one of the hardest towns to live in Jamaica. Neglected and without homes, these dogs were taken to a school to be cared for and trained to be what would be Jamaica’s first dogsled team. It was Danny Melville, who created Jamaica’s first bobsled team and the endorsement of Jimmy Buffet to put in all in motion.
The challenge was difficult because these dogs were not raised like traditional sled dogs, but it was the dogs’ and their trainers’ determination was there to put it all together. But the documentary is not just about the dogs and their trainers, Devon and Newton, it is about Jamaica itself. Though the country is a popular tourist attraction, made famous by its sandy beaches and resorts, it is actually one of the poorest countries in the world. Director Andrea Stewart made light of this in the film. She doesn’t sugarcoat it; she brings up the fact that there are not many education or employment opportunities, there’s a lot of crime and economic desperation. Through many of the experts that Stewart interviews, this team could shed some hope for the country economically as well as morally.
The dogs and the mushers are trained in Jamaica before the mushers are sent to the United States to be trained further by more experts and to race. This is due to the quarantine laws of Jamaica which state that you can take a dog out of the country, but the dog cannot go back. So this was it. Through some complicated hurdles, the team quickly makes headlines, not just because they are from Jamaica, but from their fortitude to succeed.
Devon is the head trainer and caretaker of the dogs. He is chosen to be the lead musher of the team because of his love of the animals. Newton, who is one of Devon’s workers, is also chosen to be on the team because of the love of the dogs and has a lot of motivation for the team. Both are trained by some of the best experts in bobsledding. Due to a sticky situation Devon is the one that remains to hold on to the pressure to succeed, the most pressure as he is the only one that represents Jamaica. Before long he is taken to Scotland for the international dogsled race. It is there that he and the team really makes a name for themselves all around the world just by forming a team and racing.
Stewart did a great job on this film. The photography is great with shots on not only the beauty and the true life of Jamaica, but of the lives of the dogs and the people who lead these dogs to greatness. Though the film is not about the dogs themselves it is about the lives of the trainers and those who interact with them as well. You get a great aspect of what people deal with and grown up with in Jamaica which is not always pretty or glamorous as all the commercials on television depict it to be. The documentary also shows how these people love these dogs greatly.