A special edition of HumaNature formatted for air: journeys to freedom, on two legs…and four. Ten years ago, more than 50 pit bulls were discovered at a dogfighting ring in Virginia. Most people thought they couldn’t be saved. But their stories had just begun. And 150 years ago, two girls crossed the Missouri River trying to escape a life of slavery. In the summer of 2016, a high school teacher and his students set out on a 500-mile journey to follow in their footsteps.
Story 1: Dogs Are People, Too
Ten years ago, in 2007, more than 50 pit bulls were discovered at former NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring in Virginia. Most people thought they couldn’t be saved. But their stories had just begun. The story introduces Little Red and three other dogs and shares their journeys to freedom and forever homes, told by Little Red’s adopter Susan Weidel and Darcy Dennett, director of an award-winning documentary film on the Vick dogs.
Story 2: Freedom
150 years ago, two girls crossed the Missouri River trying to escape a life of slavery. In the summer of 2016, Omaha high school teacher Barry Jurgensen and three of his students set out on a 500-mile journey to follow in their footsteps. Jurgensen tells a dramatic but little-known story that’s an important part of American history—and reminds us that it’s ordinary people, not famous politicians or public figures, who enact the most change.