User reviews

Ruby(Bear), an Australian shepherd and border collie mix, has been returned to the shelter for the fifth time due to her hyperactivity, destructive nature, and inability to take commands. Per shelter policy the shelter must reluctantly declare Ruby "unadoptable" but shelter worker Pat Inman (Camille Sullivan) asks for one more day to find Ruby a home and is given one. Meanwhile family man and Rhode Island State Trooper, Daniel O'Neil (Grant Gustin), is applying once again for the K-9 unit. The unit's head, Matt Zarrella (Scott Wolf), is aware of O'Neil's strong desire to join, but is also uncertain about O'Neil's issues with hyperactivity and restlessness. Zarrella says they don't have any more German Shepherds for recruits, but if O'Neil can provide his own he can get in. Already raising an infant son and O'Neil's wife, Melissa (Kaylah Zander), pregnant with a second child, O'Neil can't afford the $10,000 for a German Shepherd. Retired mechanic, Seamus Brady (Tom McBeath), tells O'Neil the dog doesn't have to be a German Shepherd and only needs to be a trainable medium sized dog which leads O'Neil to the local animal shelter where he finds Ruby, adopts her, and tries to train her unfocused energy.

Raised by Ruby is an adaptation of the short story Dogwink Ruby from the book Dogwinks by Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. The story itself is based on the true story of Rhode Island State Police Cpl. Daniel O'Neil and shelter dog Ruby who was saved from euthanasia by Daniel O'Neil's last minute adoption and Patricia Inman's stopping Ruby from being put down more than once. The movie comes to us from Dan Angel's Fezziwig Studios which is no stranger to Squire Rushnell adaptations having produced three Godwink Christmas movies inspired by Squire's Godwink series from which Dogwinks came. With a pedigree that comes from Hallmark movies and children's film and TV you'll find Rescued by Ruby ticks many of the boxes you find in one of these heartstring tugging "true story" movies, and yet I can't deny that it works.

Grant Gustin of CW's The Flash is a solid lead in Daniel O'Neil and brings his natural charm and charisma to the film with effortless ease. O'Neil is a loving family man, dedicated Trooper, and is well liked in the community (for good reason). Despite this O'Neil struggles with hyperactivity and dyslexia and Gustin does a solid job of conveying that to the audience with his exhibition of various ticks and coping mechanisms that he tries to overcome. Gustin is well complemented by Ruby as played by real life shelter rescue, Bear, who like Ruby was scheduled to be euthanized but was rescued by the production team and trained for the movie (be sure to stick through the credits for the outtakes). Bear's performance is well done in the movie as Ruby is conveyed to us as a high energy dog with some focus and control issues but also exhibits intelligence and tenacity making her and O'Neil an endearing set of leads.

Despite being based on a true story the writing is often that very on the nose "Hallmarky" style of writing that's almost become a parody of itself. Unlike a lot of these types of movies there's no villain with the shelter manager shown to be reluctant to put Ruby down and Scott Wolf's K-9 lead Zarrella shown to be a tough but very fair judge of Ruby and O'Neill's partnership. But there are also elements like "the sage advice" character in Seamus or the third act nadir (which is admittedly based on an actual event from O'Neil and Ruby's relationship, but it plays exactly how you expect it to). There are also moments where the editing is a little sloppy such as during Ruby's test but given the nature of the dog actor it's forgivable. But easily the biggest point in this movie's favor is the fact the dog doesn't talk. Movies like A Dog's Purpose, A Dog's Journey, or A Dog's Way Home show how wrong a premise like this can get with obnoxious voice over narration so the fact the dog is expressed through body language and animal noises is a major plus for this kind of movie (at least for me).

Rescued by Ruby doesn't break from most of the tropes of inspiring true story movies, but with a charismatic pair of human and animal leads in Grant Gustin and Bear and some solid charm it's honestly an engaging sit for the kind of movie it is. It's a solid story of underdogs (both literal and figurative) overcoming the odds and sometimes you need that.

Not quite a 10 but I would Def put this in my list of movies I'd watch when feeling a bit bleuch. And want to feel good. Acting Was good and you couldn't dislike anyone. Mt hubby and adult daughter loved it and got involved.

7.5 stars - I round UP.

This is a bit in the Hallmark arena for me (I am NOT a Hallmark fan at all), but the dog was so darling and great, I had to watch it all the way through and I am SO GLAD I did!!

Yes, this is a wholesome story, but so what? I think we all need a bit of this type of entertainment every so often and this movie is a great way to get it.

What really made me a fan was the ending. WOW!

Watch it and enjoy. Have the tissues ready. It's worth the time.

This was such a wonderful heartwarming family movie if I could give it 12 Stars I would I love the fact that it shows you you can't just give up on a dog because they don't seem to know how to obey also I am so glad they didn't use some actor dog and they used a dog that was actually rescued from a shelter it was also nice to see the actor from flash play a police officer he did such a great job they even threw in the superhero term this is definitely a feel-good movie for the whole family.

Yes! No agenda. No cussing. Just don't fun. Fun direction and beautiful scenery. The dude from FLASH does a good job at selling the part of a cop who rescues a dog to make her a police dog. Best kid's animal movie this year!

My review will be to just tell you to watch it. It's a great movie all around, WAY more than one might think. Good acting, good production value. And, by the way and with no spoilers, there's a GREAT spin at the end of the night scene. Very good movie. I'm glad I watched it!

Netflix puts out so much trash that I was surprised to see a G rated film from them. (Were your regular writers all on vacation when this one was written?) This could've been a Hallmark movie. Warm, family friendly, and...a lovable dog! And - it's based on a true story!

Nice to watch something that doesn't pollute the mind. Keep it up, Netflix!

Just an old fashioned good movie. Not an Oscar wining movie .... But I wasn't looking for that. I was looking for, and got, a great story and a good performance. The fact that it's a true story makes it all the better. Nice to end a movie feeling good about people and the world we live in.

Very inspiring and well done.

I loved this amazing heartwarming true story!

I want to know about Ruby and Daniel.

Highly recommend for adults and children.

I'm a sucker for dog movies so I really wanted this to be great. The story was true, but what kind of accent are they speaking with? Certainly not Rhode Island and not Massachusetts.

Face it, we could all use a little good right now and this movie delivers it. I'm a sucker for dog movies and Ruby/Bear is incredibly intelligent. I could totally relate to the under dog aspect. The plot twist which is based on reality is truly miraculous! Kudos to Netflix for doing something outside of their norm.

Based on true story...feel good film. No cursing no nudity just start to end feel good. And I am a sucker for dog films ..loved the ending and the montage of the real life heroes.

Grade-A "Hallmark" type movie. Good choice to release direct to streaming, and keep the kids entertained during a storm. Dog POV shots were relatively original and worked well. Grant Gustin had a nice NE accent, but that didn't add sufficient depth to the role, and overcome memories of the "Flash." IMPORTANT storyline about learning disability was not sufficiently emoted, and a better director could have brought that out of Gustin and explored the feelings of his inner conflict. At a minimum, somebody with a learning disability will NOT have perfect diction and grammer. That is where the movie fell short and lacked the depth to get beyond "Hallmark" TV status.

Not many movies these days end with me crying through laughter, my favorite emotion, and this 1 did. What a wonderful story to watch during these very bleak times. A little respite from the days sorrows. Thanks for the beautiful story.

The story is really cute and probably difficult to work with given how simple it is. Ideally stories like this are 15-20 min documentary films. Grant Gustin has done a good job. Some scenes are really too dramatic only to stretch the movie to 90 min. Its definitely educational for both new and old dog owners. It also offers a perspective of how demanding a job of K9 officers is. Its very important for them to stay calm, listen to their instincts or dogs or both and make immediate decisions in very panicky situations. For me that was the biggest takeaway from the film. Rescuing dogs is their main message and they have a good story to back it up. I wouldn't really say that the movie is must watch. If there's an article of that dog i'd just read that.

This is a movie that reminds me of my childhood. Amazing dog actor. Not a CGI movie with CGI dogs. Heartwarming story. It was just rusty in the beginning when the guy was trying to train the dog by himself. Doesn't have a clue. You would think if you were trying out for the K9 unit for 7 years, you would get some basic understanding of dogs. Just my opinion.

Very intrtaining and relaxing movie,take all your stress away.

Movie keep you on edge all the time,it has a suspens in it,meanwhile show you how good karma influence your life.

The movie centers on the what Faith and Trust can do to people. The ending really got me. I didn't see it coming. I totally, balled out. This is a great family movie. You'll end up like wanting to have a dog.

This movie doesn't reinvent the genre, but it does it damn well. Grant Gustin plays a ranger who serves his community and is a family man. He does it well, and his acting feels authentic. The dog's actor is also good and definitely plays the part of a hyper active shelter dog pretty well. Overall a very good family movie and good to watch for a nice distraction.

It's a Border Collie! Best dogs on the planet. If you, like me, like all dog movies, you'll like this one. Based on a true story, gives fascinating detail of how K-9 search and rescue dogs work. Good family movie.

Based on a true story and the dog's not just an actor but a real life rescued dog. It was saved from the Dog Shelter on the day it was to be put to sleep as an unclaimed, unwanted animal. How could a shelter be so cruel to such a beautiful animal? Luckily, Ruby and actor dog, Bear, were not aware of humans' intentions or neither would have dedicated its life to rescuing 'lost' and injured humans from the country's wilderness.

Dog gets top marks for good acting. The cast needs to go back to acting school for more lessons - on how to be human and not be outshone by a dog! A great family movie and that dog is the next 'Lassie'.