Based on the popular novel “A Dog’s Purpose” by Bruce Cameron, the big screen production was supposed to set the tone for “feel good” movies of 2017. Showing the true companionship of a dog and his owner, the movie showcased five decades of Ethan’s life as the dog is being reincarnated each time as the boy grows older.  The movie was set to release January 27 with many moviegoers excited for its arrival.

However this all came to an abrupt halt when a video surfaced about a week before the movie release date of dog actor (Hercules) being “forced” to perform a stunt in water he did not want to do according to the video below.

TMZ was among the first to break the story with the video titled: A Dog’s Purpose Terrified German Shepherd Forced Into Turbulent Water. Posted January 18th on Youtube and racking up over 8 million views, it was enough time for animal lovers to label the movie as “Animal Abuse” and calling for a boycott of the movie. (It is important to note that footage scene on video was taken in 2015)

 

TMZ had also reported that the director was on set for the scene.

Our very own Bill Warren of Warren theaters had his own viewpoint on the ordeal. Just one day after TMZ posted the video, Bill Warren released the following statement:

“In that video, you hear a voice in the background. Some loser laughing about it. It’s just sickening what someone on a production crew would do to make money.”

 

Many other social media users also shared Bill Warren’s viewpoint:

https://twitter.com/RileyPit/status/823731364717531136

https://twitter.com/chandra_jackson/status/822190268501921793

I wonder how many people are going to boycott @a_dogs_purpose? Guessing a lot. Count me as one. #dogspurpose

— Kristin Silverman (@KSilverhill) January 20, 2017

 

PETA of course, could not take a back seat to this as they helped push to further boycott the movie: A Dog’s Purpose.

 

The firestorm that ignited in the media about A Dog’s Purpose forced those involved to act quickly.

 

Universal Pictures released a statement:

“Fostering a safe environment and ensuring the ethical treatment of our animal actors was of the utmost importance to those involved in making this film and we will look into the circumstances surrounding this video.”

 

The director of the movie, Lasse Hallström, said:

“I am very disturbed by the video released today from the set of my film A dog’s purpose. I did not witness these actions, which are unacceptable and would never happen with my knowledge. We were all committed to providing a loving, respectful and safe environment for all the animals in the film. I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is underway and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished.”

 

Producers of A Dog’s Purpose had something to say on the matter as well. The German Shepherd in question was not forced to perform a scene at the time the video was taken. Filming was later resumed once the dog was comfortable with the water. Rescuers were on site ready to go to ensure Hercules’ (the dog) health and happiness.

 

The producers added:

“The movie is a celebration of the special connection between humans and their dogs. And in the spirit of this relationship, the Amblin production team followed rigorous protocols to foster an ethical and safe environment for the animals.”

The story spun even more out of control when the American Humane Association representative who was on set during the time was placed on suspension while the investigation was being conducted.

And for the truth About A Dog’s Purpose ….

After two weeks of bashing the movie A Dog’s Purpose, it came out recently that the story fell into the category of FAKE NEWS.

According to  American Humane:

“ An independent, third-party investigation conducted by a respected animal cruelty expert into the treatment of animals in the filming of “A Dog’s Purpose” concluded that an edited video given to the gossip site TMZ mischaracterized the events on the set. The decisions by the individual or individuals who captured and deliberately edited the footage, and then waited longer than 15 months to release the manipulated video only days before the movie’s premiere, raise serious questions about their motives and ethics.”

Here are some of the facts from the investigation:

• The video was deliberately edited for the purpose of misleading the public and stoking outrage. In fact, the two scenes shown in the edited video were filmed at different times.

• The first video scene was stopped after the dog showed signs of stress. The dog was not forced to swim in the water at any time.

• A full spectrum of preparation and safety measures were in place, including the following:

• Prior to shooting the scene, safety meetings were held to go over and reinforce safety precautions and protocols.

• The dog was selected for his love of the water, and had been professionally trained and conditioned for the water scenes over the course of six weeks, using positive training techniques.

• In addition to one of American Humane’s Certified Animal Safety Representatives, five experts—including safety specialists and animal handlers—were present to supervise and safeguard the dog throughout the water scene.

• During the last scene, handlers immediately assisted the dog out of the water, at which point he was placed in a warming tent and received an examination that found no signs of stress. Eyewitnesses report that the dog wanted to go back in the water. Still, out of an abundance of caution, American Humane stopped filming of any more scenes with the dog.

• A veterinary checkup was performed last week at the request of American Humane, which confirmed that the dog is healthy.
  
  Taken from Americanhumane.org

 

It was determined that no animals were harmed during the making of this film.

Bill Warren later retracted his boycott of A Dog’s Purpose movie by saying:

“When I first saw the video about a German Shepard being mistreated on the set of A Dog’s Purpose, I was outraged. The abuse of animals is not something I will tolerate, so I decided not to play this movie in our theatres as a protest. However, according to an independent investigation by American Humane, “The video was deliberately edited for the purpose of misleading the public and stoking outrage.”

After the investigation was complete Bill Warren decided to release A Dog’s Purpose on February 10 in Warren Theaters.

What are your thoughts on how the media spun this news story? Do you plan on seeing A Dog’s Purpose now that it is available in Warren Theaters?