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Abuse on movie set

8K views 66 replies 27 participants last post by  Jenny720 
#1 ·
I have a disgust towards tabloid/gossip and generally do all I can to avoid TMZ and the likes.

I'm glad though I stumbled upon the following video - although the guy behind the camera (laughing) is a total idiot.
It says it's from the movie set of 'A Dog's Purpose'. Which, if true, will be a movie I will certainly not watch.

 
#4 ·
They couldn't just get a dog to stand in that liked water better? At first I thought, that looks like a dock diving tank but with a current...if I threw a toy my dogs would be in there in a flash

Well until I saw what appeared to be the dog being swept away and going under at the end...so that current was really strong!? Or the dog was an abysmal swimmer, either way it is sad that they did this.
 
#5 ·
yeah that looks pretty bad…I will not be paying to watch this movie, if it's free on tv maybe but they won't get my money for doing this to a dog. They could have found a better dog to do this, or done it a better way, I would bet money my dog would jump in there no hesitation if I jumped in first and made a lot of noise, they could have had his handler jump in and he might have voluntarily gone in after him.
 
#11 ·
I would like confirmation about where this took place and if it was actually for the movie.

I know the producers are saying they are looking into it. I won't decide about seeing it until I confirmation.

That said, I was never going to see it in the theater. Cause I am going to Kim Kardashian UGLY cry. Not good in public.
 
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#12 ·
Meh. My big thing is do you recover the dog after? Zebu the first time I was teaching him to swim panicked and scratched and clawed at me at first and we stuck it out and swimming became one of his favorite things to do.

I don't mind pushing a dog out of its comfort zone but if I decide to do it I'm going to get him through that process. Did that happen here? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows maybe normally the dog doesn't fear water or swimming but just that picture with the noise and spray.

Either way I don't like the anthropomorphic message movies like this create in the public and won't pay to see it because of that. If I saw proof they recovered the dog and got him confident after shooting this I'd be mostly ok with it.
 
#13 ·
I never had the intentions of seeing the movie because I couldn't even make it through the preview without crying.

My biggest concern is that this dog is alive because that woman sounded extremely scared at the end when the dog went under. I really want to hear that confirmed.

My dogs love water but can be hesitant in different water sources. They are fine once in and I have pushed it a little bit, they were never as scared as this pup appeared to be. My first thought was that dog is going to bite that person.

I have seen people posting the story all day refusing to watch the movie because of this treatment, those very same people were upset that the circus was closing. Very hypocritical-abuse is abuse no matter what kind of animal it is.
 
#17 ·
Both the actor Josh Gad and director Lasse Hallstrom have reacted on Twitter about this. The latter said the following, "I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is underway and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished."

Also, spokesmen of American Humane, Mark Stubis, said the safety representative who was present at the set has been suspended and an independed investigation has started.

I think it now is safe to say this took place at the set of 'A Dog's Purpose'.


About anthropomorphism, I'm not sure to what extent it is present in these type of movies, if at all. To be honest, I never watch them.
We personify animals and even inanimate objects, I think it's natural (though annoying in some occasions).
 
#18 ·
This video has gone viral. It is disturbing to say the least. Would like to know more about the trainer and why this horrible "training" exercise occurred. My understanding is that SPCA is supposed to be present on film sets where animals are present to prevent this type of act from occurring. From what I could see( and this is obviously not the whole picture)the dog looked stressed and forced into a situation that it was not allowed to get out of. It looks almost like the trainer was throwing weights on the dog and forcing him/her to get in. I loved the book "Dogs Purpose" and was really looking forward to seeing the film. I'm gonna hold off on seeing the movie until I hear about this situation. Also, I highly recommend the dog book "Art of racing in the rain". Lets hug our dogs a little closer tonight.
 
#28 ·
This happened in 2015. It has only gone viral upon release of the trailer for the move. 1.5 yrs later.


So no swift action. This seems to be sabatage
 
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#20 ·
Wherever it happened, I don't like it.

It seems to me that there must have been a better way. Had the dog ever been swimming before? We don't know. But if not, wouldn't it make more sense to desensitize the dog? Let it get used to swimming in calm water and then gradually add a little agitation to the water at a time. Maybe they did this, but I doubt it.

It's a little bit difficult for me to believe that any dog, no matter how brave in other circumstances, would have run up and jumped into that rough water without hesitating.

And very clearly at the end, you can see the dog going under and hear the panic in peoples' voices as they react.

No, it wasn't good procedure and it wasn't kind.
 
#24 ·
I don't know the whole story so I'm not going to get into that. But in regards to a dog jumping in I'd say my dog would jump in no problem given the right motivation. Either if I was in the water or if I threw a toy in there. Fetch is like drugs for her, she'd go anywhere the item is thrown.
 
#21 ·
I don't see any reason to force a dog to do something like this for the sake of entertainment. They were in obvious time crunch I'm sure could of been handled differently. I'm sure the trainer owner regrets this decision and I hope the dog still likes water. I wonder what PETA is going to- a scary bunch. I wanted to see this movie to even though I cry like a baby through the previews.
 
#22 ·
Ok, this happened almost a year ago. And it really didn't happen, it was doctored. The dog had been fine practicing for this in previous days, that day he did not want to do it. The handler got his feet wet, and then got a little more of him wet and got him out of there. Then they cut and waited for a day or so. What happened in between we really don't know.

The understanding is that all the dogs used for the movie are still fine.

The humane society representative has now been put on administrative leave so an independent investigation can happen (because the video when viral), but that person did not put up a stink at the time.

It was leaked to push an AR agenda and have people boycott the film.

We see something and get crazy about it. Some dogs have that much stress getting a bath or their toe nails clipped. Some people who do dog sports have to put them in the water the first time. These dogs aren't snowflakes. We have to be careful not to let doctored clips get us up in arms about stuff.
 
#23 ·
The director is trying to get the whole original video released. He sys he was unaware of this and that the dog freaked out because it was different pkacement then practiced. I'll wait to see that whole video.
 
#26 ·
@selzer

Yeah, I kind of regret posting this here, especially with this title. I'm normally not someone who watches/cares for anything from tabloid journalism. The images were doctored indeed, as they do not occur on the same day. It does raise some ethical questions though. To what degree can we stress animals for entertainment value? Should we differentiate between breeds and types of animals? Etc etc.


Anyway, for some lightheartedness, here's how this dog's first day at the day care looked like (the white one):

 
#27 ·
Why do you regret posting?

Yes it happened a year ago but so what. Who csres who released it and why. A dog was mistreated. What else did they do? I wasn't bothered by the pushing him so much as the wrenching and lifting him by his collar. Although really that could have been handled better. The guy talking needs a smack in the head. But the dog going under the water is disturbing and should not have happened.
 
#29 ·
This really disappointed me to have this come into my FB newsfeed.
I really really really want to go see the move. I texted my friend when I found out the release date and booked her to come with me on my next day off after that date.


I have not been to a movie in the theatre since....are you ready for this..."Vanilla Sky" and it sucked....lol
So poop:frown2:
 
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#30 ·
it would be torture for me to have to sit through a movie with that premise.

we don't have to burden animals with some karmic duty to take care of our lives.

the purpose of a dog , to chase, sniff dog bums, to bake the backside by the fire , to hide chew toys for "later" , to enjoy the attention from a caring person and to be kept safe and healthy.

one odd thing the dog in the viral youtube is a very light faced gsd. In the trailer I saw a segment that had the gsd in the roiling pool with a blue something or other (sleeve?) in his mouth , swimming toward the camera.
Is it just me , but did that face look darker , as in having a darker mask and cap?

so if I were to boycott the movie it would be because it is 4 rotten tomatoes, commercial schlock.
 
#32 ·
I guess they used 5 dogs for the movie, so maybe the dog in the water is a different dog. I don't know.

As for a dog's purpose, well, it seems like perhaps enough info to provide for a new thread. I wasn't intending to watch the movie. I figure it is so much blither to try and reduce the most tender-hearted to blithering. But do dog's have a purpose? Should they?

I was thinking about this this morning. So many people see them as furry kids. My dogs are so excited for me to come home every single day, rain or shine, no kid does that. No parent would expect a child to be so absorbed in themselves that they would be waiting for the highpoint of their day, momma's home! But dogs are just like that. It doesn't matter if you have 1 or 20, they are thrilled when you come home, thrilled when you pay them attention, thrilled to go with you, thrilled to train, thrilled to play, thrilled to eat, thrilled to climb up in your bed and give you wet doggy kisses.

It may not be a dog's purpose in life to make a human's life worth living, but I think many people have stumbled through rough patches because of their dogs. I think they are so suitable to accompany humans through a portion of their lives, that we think of their purpose as companion.

I think we set ourselves up for disappointment if we expect our dogs to fill a hole in our lives, but many dogs do fill many holes in our lives.

I'd say a dog's purpose is to attach itself to other critters. In doing so, it is provided for and it provides companionship. If the other critters are all critters/dogs, then it will work together with other critters to make finding food easier. Attachments will provide in many cases for reproduction of the species, better health, etc. The attachment, the instinct to attach to others is what makes them so suitable to us, for many things.
 
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