The Full Story
By Mindi Callison
We live in a world where headlines move faster than truth, where urgency is rewarded more than accuracy, and where being first can feel more important than being right.
Most stories are more complicated than they first appear. There are layers, context, and missing pieces. Social media and news outlets play into this regularly. They lead with headlines designed to shock or frighten, manufactured to make you read with a sense of urgency. The goal is to make you feel before you think.
This is exactly why what happened to our organization recently matters, because it is a real-time example of how quickly things can become distorted, and how important it is to look deeper when someone is actively trying to shape how you feel.
What Actually Happened
Recently, Bailing Out Benji found itself at the center of a narrative that spread quickly and strategically. A blog was shared quietly to our lead volunteers, our major donors, and people engaging with us on social media. Claims were made about our actions, our intent, and our role in a situation involving another program and another organization. Like a lot of stories that move fast, the version that traveled wasn’t the full one.
Before going further, something needs to be said clearly: we believe in collaboration, we believe in accountability, and we believe that when there is a problem, it should be addressed directly. Bailing Out Benji is a professional organization, and we believe that communication can fix a lot of the world’s problems.
That’s exactly what we tried to do.
When concerns were raised about a breeding facility, we followed the proper process, filed a complaint, and then accepted an invitation to have a direct conversation with the facility owner.
Access Built on Trust
We have spent years building relationships in this space and because of that, we are often invited into places that other organizations feel they have to deceive their way into. We don’t have to hide who we are and we don’t have to misrepresent our intentions.
In this specific instance, I was invited to visit a facility that I later learned another nonprofit had hired an undercover investigator to access. What I saw inside was a night-and-day difference from the USDA violation photos taken the year prior. The kennel had taken steps to update their facility and address animal welfare concerns before the public was even aware there were issues.
I was able to see every inch of that facility, read every document, and take any photos or videos I wanted, with full consent. We never would have named the breeder, much like we haven’t named any of the facilities we have visited. Our goal isn’t to endorse, but to learn from this industry and encourage change where we can.
The investigator attempted to get inside of this facility five separate times that same day and was politely turned away each time. One of those conversations was actually with the dog broker who represents the breeder’s puppy sales and that conversation was kind, professional, and left the door open for further dialogue.
Rather than leave lingering questions in the air, we chose a different path: we agreed that since this facility was of great concern to others, then the most productive step was to get on a call, talk directly, listen openly, and be transparent.
A Straightforward Phone Call
Before I go on with the story, I want to address something that was also miscommunicated in the article. Yes, the phone number used to make that call came from a professional communication I had received from one of the investigator’s aliases, but the number appeared in his email signature. I had never worked with this person before, had never been formally introduced to them, and was given no indication that the number was private or restricted in any way. My intention in using it was simply to follow up on his questions in a direct and respectful manner, based on the information available at the time.
The call itself was professional and respectful. There were no accusations and no hostility, just a genuine attempt to answer questions and find clarity. That’s what this work is supposed to look like behind the scenes. At the time, I also sent email correspondence to the organization that expressed concern about the breeder with the invitation for open conversation. Again, everything felt professional, and hopeful that we were turning a new leaf when it comes to transparency and communication.
Which is why, a month later, we were genuinely shocked to read a blog post making serious allegations about the entire encounter.
Those of us who were there that day and were a part of the communications felt like a door was opened, we never felt like it was threatening or dangerous. A recording of the call, copies of the emails, and footage from the day all exist but will not be shared to ensure the safety and privacy of all parties.
How a Narrative Gets Distorted
Somewhere between that conversation and what was eventually shared publicly, things changed. The tone shifted, intent was reassigned, and allegations were made that a single professional phone call had put a man’s life in danger. It has been one month now and we still never heard directly from the organization or individual affected.
Instead, we heard from supporters and advocates who had received the blog and were asked to take a stand against it. These were people who trusted the source, who may have already held certain assumptions, and or who just found the story too compelling not to pass along. They were shouldering the burden of a story that was incomplete and misleading, without knowing it.
A direct call between our two organizations prior to publishing that blog post would have been the professional way to get to the bottom of things. But I’ve come to understand that not everyone in this work is looking for answers, some are only looking to confirm the conclusions they have already reached.Once a narrative starts moving, it becomes easy to fill in gaps, to read actions through a predetermined lens, and to present interpretation as fact.
That’s why nuance matters so much. When we skip over it, real conversations get lost, real intentions get misrepresented, and the work itself becomes harder for everyone.
Why the wait
A month of silence feels long, but being inside of the storm for a month feels that way too.
Every week, every day, our small team was being hit with loss. Every time we caught our breath and thought we knew how to address this, something else would happen. This small, targeted push for a story hit the people we have come to love the most and who gave the most to our organization, which made it so hard to see clearly during the loudest moments. Our funding was being targeted, our business relationships were being targeted, our volunteers were being targeted, and all we could do was handle this behind the scenes as professionally as we could. We were trying to handle this in a way that didn’t add fuel to the flames of this much deeper conversation that goes beyond one incident.
I am so sorry that I waited to share the full story, especially as it has continued to be put in circulation, but there is no guidebook in this work. Our research has been the subject of these conversations for the last three years and handling all of the parties involved and the politics involved has been a very delicate and eye-opening experience. We are only just now beginning to get a full picture of how deep the resistance to our work goes and we won’t know the ripple effects of the damage of this blog for months to come. We truly hoped the parties involved would be open to communication about their concerns but we now realize that isn’t possible at this time. We will continue having conversations with people across the industry in order to create the most effective change for dogs who live within the breeding industry.
There is a saying that ‘all’s fair in love and war’ but that’s not how we operate.
We care deeply about impact, but never at the expense of accuracy, context, or the people involved. The work that we do will always be done through a lens of kindness and compassion, and informed by data.