Jenks never thought in a million years he would be in a volunteered situation to have his life at stake, shoot an actual gun, or meet a blonde 23 year-old girl named Brogan who endangers her life in attempt to stop animal cruelty. This week Jenks lives with a young woman who has been rescuing animals her whole life.
In contrast to former episodes, Jenks becomes worried for a person’s life that he has only known for a week. She doesn’t only save animals; she puts her life on the line while working with an organization called ARM in Miami, Florida. Brogan, along with ARM works closely with the law enforcement agencies to stop the killing of the horses that come straight off the horse tracks.
Jenks joins Brogan on an animal recovery mission to save horses and to shut down the slaughter houses, which makes this episode extremely exciting, and intriguing that he is going to actually go on a mission. In preparation, Brogan takes the first few days teaching Jenks how to shoot a gun and buying the correct apparel for the mission. Jenks is quite terrified throughout the trip, and constantly questions why Brogan would risk her life for these horses. Brogan’s response was knowing that these animals are being killed almost every moment of the day is morally wrong, and just the thought can keep her up at night. Jenks cannot believe that saving animals can be this much work and this dangerous.
Brogan takes Jenks to the wetlands of Miami called the Seanine Basin to show him how brutal the conditions are. Brogan makes her way to some people who are preparing to butcher the horses which makes Jenks extremely nervous. In an effort to uncover who is killing illegally, part of Brogan’s job is to pose as someone who is interested buying horses for slaughter. This episode is very inspiring, and really shows that bad things do happen.
Witnessing the dangers of the mission and all that just happened, Jenks sits in the car not only in disbelief of what horrible things these people are doing, but is also scared that any of them can get killed doing this job. He is not looking forward to going back to the mission. His vulnerability and insight in this process stabbed my heart and made me want to just help.
Unfortunately, Brogan’s action-packed day is not near the end. The work Brogan does with ARM is strictly volunteer, so she has to rely on other jobs to make money, including cleaning the bottom of boats. Brogan is extremely low on money: She is not able to fix her car which shows error signs on the dashboard, and struggles to pay rent. This episode demonstrates the struggle people can live with, and that some people put other’s needs before their own.
Brogan introduces to Jenks a horse she saved, named Freedom Flight that was seconds away from being murdered. Brogan becomes emotional as she tells the story, and Jenks understand how much horses really meant to her. The dangers Brogan faces are real, but it’s hard to turn a blind eye to the horse’s flight.
The day is reaching an end, so Brogan and Jenks drive to the illegal slaughter farm, and begin preparations for their capture. Jenks wears camouflage, night glasses, and carries a walkie-talkie during the mission. The resulting pictures were frightening and people just don’t believe it until they see the footage.
Coming into the world of an animal rescuer, Jenks thought he was going to throw paint at people, and put bumper stickers on cars, but he quickly realized there is a whole other aspect to rescuers. Jenks captured a life of adventure, low pay, struggle, and life threatening that is so intriguing.
“This is my world right here,” Brogan said. “Climbing over fences and lying in ditches is just how I try to help the world.”
Passion is derived from the Latin word, meaning to suffer and endure. Although it might be hard for a lot of people to understand the risks that Brogan’s passion entails, the work she does saves animals who endure endless suffering. Jenks know Brogan won’t rest until this work is done, but he admits that it is a lot harder for him to sleep knowing his friend is out there risking her life to follow her passion.
Unlike all of Jenks’s video documentaries in the past, he has never felt in danger or actually experience events that could affect others too. Having to shoot a gun, hide in ditches, and see visuals of horse carcasses is not something Jenks had ever thought of doing. This has been the best episode yet in my opinion because of how Jenks reacted through this experience, and the diversity of his events in this world.
