If you, like millions of others, want to see the new hit A Dog’s Purpose, get ready for a dog-fight with PETA on the steps of the movie theater.
Universal scrapped a press junket and the movie’s premiere after a viral video was released, showing a pet German shepherd forced into water on the set of A Dog’s Purpose. The movie, starring Dennis Quaid, is based on the same-titled book and is set to hit theaters Jan. 27th.
BREAKING: #ADogsPurpose #LA premiere event is canceled after dog cruelty video goes viral! #BoycottADogsPurpose https://t.co/wR0hL8Vtgk
— PETA (@peta) January 20, 2017
Timing is Everything
The alleged incident with the German shepherd occurred last Fall. Many wonder why the clip’s “videographer” took fifteen months to make it public, releasing it to TMZ just before the movie hits theaters January 27.
The studio said the dog was treated humanely during filming and the dog’s 40 seconds in the water caused it absolutely no harm. They also said the dog wanted to go into the water, just not at that particular spot. Moreover, the movie’s producer, Gavin Polone, changed his mind after watching the full video, insisting the pet was never in danger. Polone speculated that whomever shot the video may have done so for monetary gain.
“I looked at the video of all of this. [The dog] gets under the froth of the water, but he is lifted up by the diver. He came up and he was fine….I’m not saying there were no mistakes made, but the whole thing is becoming untrue and unfair…”
The author of the book, W. Bruce Cameron, also believed the edited video didn’t accurately characterize true events on the set, according to a statement he wrote on Facebook.
“First I want to thank everyone—and there have been literally thousands of you—who have written to express support. Your words and thoughts mean the world to us. I found the video we’ve all seen to be shocking because when I was on set, the ethic of everyone was the safety and comfort of the dogs. If the people who shot and edited the video thought something was wrong, why did they wait fifteen months to do anything about it, instead of immediately going to the authorities?”
“It takes a cold heart not to find this footage disturbing, so PETA asks whether A Dog’s Purpose was written from the heart or just to make a buck,” said PETA.
[Feature Photo: A Dog’s Purpose trailer/video]
