The Tiger Next Door is a documentary film that tells the story of a man named Dennis Hill who has been breeding, and selling tigers from his backyard in Flat Rock, Indiana for over fifteen years. As Hill’s small town drama unfolds, a litany of news stories of tiger situations gone bad around the country suggest an animal welfare problem of much larger scope.
Tigers are simultaneously an occupation and an obsession for Dennis H. He claims to know exactly what they’re thinking by the look in their eyes. But now, after a surprise government inspection, he’s lost the license that allowed him to keep exotic animals, and the state of Indiana is threatening to shut him down. He has just five days to find alternate homes for all but three of his brood and to bring his facilities up to code – or else lose what he considers to be his life’s work.
As Dennis fights to hold on to his tigers over the days and months that follow, The Tiger Next Door follows him – exploring his motives, his past, and the curious, ethically-murky world he’s created in his backyard. At the same time, the film ranges far beyond Dennis’ animal compound, illuminating the connection between breeders like Dennis H, and the near-epidemic of wild animal keeping in the United States.
