If you've been to a movie theater at all in recent months, there is a good chance you've seen the trailer for the upcoming family drama "A Dog's Purpose." For the most part, it seemed like an ordinary feel-good movie about the power of a dog's love, but a recent leaked video of apparent animal abuse might prove otherwise.
TMZ published disturbing footage from the set, in which a trainer forces a frightened German Shepherd into turbulent water, and at one point, the dog goes under the water as it struggles to swim, nearly drowning.
I don't have it in me to link to the video. This still shot is bad enough.
I didn't have any desire to see "A Dog's Purpose" in the first place because I simply hate sentimental dog movies. Not because I'm heartless or because I grew up with several cats, but they always end with the dog dying and I hate crying and snotting up over that. After this, I have even less of a desire to see it.
Fallout has been swift. Best Friends Animal Society, a non-profit which partnered up with Universal Pictures to promote adoption, pulled their endorsement, American Humane suspended the representative on set at the time of the incident and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) launched a boycott of the film.
My first instinct is to do the opposite of what PETA says, and that's a pretty good instinct to have, but at the end of the day, a frightened animal was recklessly forced into water and could very well have drowned.
What's sad about "A Dog's Purpose" is that this isn't anything new. The history of animal cruelty in Hollywood is (unfortunately) long and storied. It wasn't until 1939's "Jesse James" that the American Humane Association got involved in Hollywood in the first place, and even then, rules were pretty lenient until the infamous 1980 western "Heaven's Gate." Still, it happens, and "A Dog's Purpose" is proof enough.
How ironic that the crew of a film that supposedly celebrates man's best friend could be anything but friendly to their canine stars.
It's easy to think, "There are a lot of standards and rules to make sure animals aren't harmed in movies." True, but the rules are only as good as the paper they're printed on.
Filmmakers need to remember that animals are challenging to work with. They don't have the capacity for language or free moral agency that humans do. They are unpredictable and must be handled with compassion and patience. When the animal balks at a certain action, don't force them! An animal's well-being is not less important than perfecting a shot. If directors are not willing to be patient with animal actors, leave the animal depictions to animation studios.
It's 2017. We have regulations, but we also have all the technology in the world to make movies magical but practical. Let's try harder to do well by our animal friends, Hollywood.
