As an animal lover, stories about animal abuse get me pretty riled up. I can barely get through those extended commercials from the ASPCA that show animals in cages and chained outside. When people post pictures of animals that are lost or hurt on social media or the news covers stories about humans hurting animals, it is upsetting.
I am apparently not alone. One of the first columns I wrote was about the loss of our dog Bailey and that end of life decision that pet owners sometimes have to face. People still mention that column to me. In another, I attempted to make a point that it’s silly to lump groups of anything together and assign “them” characteristics. I used pit bulls as an example. The number of comments on that column from the pro-pit bull and anti-pit bull activists caught me totally by surprise. Many of my Facebook posts involve cute puppies or other animal videos.
As I write this, my two Labrador retrievers are fighting for space at my feet.
It is that love of animals, and of dogs in particular, that made last week’s video of a German shepherd on a movie set being forced to go into water raise my hackles.
According to the video release on celebrity gossip website TMZ, the video was shot during the making of the movie “A Dog’s Purpose.” Based on a book by the same name, the movie ironically focuses on the incredible role that dogs play in the lives of humans. The video shows a trainer attempting to first verbally and then physically urge the dog into a small pool which was designed to move the water to represent a river with currents. In the video, the dog clearly does not want to go into the water and, when the trainer pushes the dog into the water, the dog seems to claw to try to get out. The clip later shows what seems to be the same dog, swimming and then disappearing under the current. You hear someone say “Cut it” and the humans in the pool then rush to the dog’s aid.
The video was released by TMZ last week. The much anticipated release of “A Dog’s Purpose” to nationwide theaters was scheduled for this coming Friday. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is urging a boycott of the movie. The video has gone viral.
People associated with the film, including the producers and the author and co-screenwriter of “A Dog’s Purpose” are pushing back. They are defending the treatment of animals on the set, saying that they “followed rigorous protocols to foster an ethical and safe environment for the animals,” and questioning the timing of the release of the video. (The video was apparently made available 15 months ago but was only released last week). The official premiere of the movie has been canceled.
The American Humane Association (AHA) has the rights to the “No Animals Were Harmed” certification. There are apparently few, if any, state or federal regulations about how we treat our canine or other animal movie and television actors. According to the AHA website, their monitoring crews review about 70 percent of animal action in film and television. If you visit the AHA website for the certification program, they have a rating system that identifies how animals were treated on the set and if the set was monitored.
All domestic Screen Actors Guild productions, including “A Dog’s Purpose,” are required to notify the AHA of animal involvement. The safety representative who oversaw animal treatment on the set of “A Dog’s Purpose,” has been placed on leave and the association is bringing in a third-party investigator.
“American Humane has reviewed the video and we are disturbed and concerned by the footage,” the AHA told People.com in a statement. “When the dog showed signs of resistance to jumping in the water, the scene should have been stopped.”
Representatives from the film have argued that the dog was confused as he had earlier been jumping in and out from the other side of the pool all day with ease and comfort. Huh? One of my favorite Centre Region Parks and Recreation events is Aqua Dog Day held annually for local humans to bring their canines for an afternoon of swimming at Bark Forest, aka Park Forest pool. It’s pretty obvious which dogs don’t want to swim. Pushing a dog into the water against its will wouldn’t go unnoticed by the dog lovers at that event. I believe how people treat animals shows their character.
As a dog lover, I had been looking forward to seeing the movie because I heard the book is amazing. Until the questions about this incident are answered, I’m going to pass. I don’t need to go see a movie that didn’t take care of its movie stars – canine or otherwise.
Photo: Local canines enjoy Aqua Dog Day at Park Forest Pool. Photo by Patty Kleban.
