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A Dog’s Purpose (film) accused of animal cruelty after disturbing footage emerges

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M

mr2xxx

Banned
Reminds me of my German Shepard puppy. Acted the same way when I carried him into the shallow end of the pool. He never ended up liking the pool.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
‘A Dog's Purpose' Producer ”Horrified" Seeing Video Of Dog Almost Drowning On Set; PETA Calls For Boycott Of Film

But Polone is speaking up and loudly, angry that this happened on his film, given his animal activism.

”I'm horrified by this," said Polone. ”The first thing I asked was, ‘Is the dog OK?' He's fine. But if I had seen that, I would have stopped it in a minute. People have to be held responsible for this. It was someone's job to watch out for this kind of thing. Why didn't they? This is something I've written about before, whether it be circus animals or animals on set. American Humane are supposed to be there supervising. That's their job that someone is paid a lot of money to do. Why wasn't this stopped? There needs to be a better system than this. That's what I've called for in the past. I agree with PETA that they not only need to make sure animals are treated properly on set, but they also need to find out where the animals are kept outside of the set. To make sure they are treated properly at all times."
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D

darscot

Member
17 Seconds said:
dogs usually don't nearly drown in baths
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The dog did not appear to nearly drown from that brief clip. The dog went under and people jumped to its aid. My dog submerges itself in water all the time. I sure as shit would not jump in to save her for going under.
 
A

ant_

not characteristic of ants at all
The disturbing thing in this video is the commentary over the video and the person filming.

It's even more alarming, in my opinion, to see the outrage this has already generated. The crux of this video is completely cut; we have no idea how the dog enters the water. The trainer clearly pulls him out at the end of the first clip.

The clickbait title of "A DOG'S PURPOSE' TERRIFIED GERMAN SHEPHERD FORCED INTO TURBULENT WATER | TMZ" is clearly constructing a narrative.

I don't like seeing harm come to animals but I don't think, from the video, you can determine any malicious intent.
 
1

17 Seconds

Banned
darscot said:
The dog did not appear to nearly drown from that brief clip. The dog went under and people jumped to its aid. My dog submerges itself in water all the time. I sure as shit would not jump in to save her for going under.
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i hope you are never in charge of watching kids play in water if you think that wasn't cutting it close
 
D

darscot

Member
17 Seconds said:
i hope you are never in charge of watching kids play in water if you think that wasn't cutting it close
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I just rewatched it to see if I am missing something. The dog is under for like 2 seconds before the trainer is there. No I do not not jump to rescue my children or my dog when they are submerged for 2 seconds. Both my kids and my dog will swim and play in the ocean for hours. This video does not does not show enough for me to be concerned at the safety of the animal.
 
1

17 Seconds

Banned
darscot said:
I just rewatched it to see if I am missing something. The dog is under for like 2 seconds before the trainer is there. No I do not not jump to rescue my children or my dog when they are submerged for 2 seconds. Both my kids and my dog will swim and play in the ocean for hours. This video does not does not show enough for me to be concerned at the safety of the animal.
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dumb comparison. you wouldn't go after your kid/dog if it became submerged against it's will? obviously the dog in this video was struggling to stay above water.
 
1

17 Seconds

Banned
99Luffy said:
That dog can hold its breath for more than 2 seconds Im pretty sure.
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the dog was probably out of breath from struggling before it even went under, and you don't even see how long he was under for

bunch of contrarians in here making themselves look like sociopaths because they're afraid of outrage culture
 
9

99Luffy

Banned
17 Seconds said:
the dog was probably out of breath from struggling before it even went under, and you don't even see how long he was under for
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We see both trainers make it to the dog before the video cuts out.

If news comes out and this is actually the 20th take and the dog is tired. Then yeah, that goes into animal abuse territory.

unch of contrarians in here making themselves look like sociopaths because they're afraid of outrage culture
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Hope youre never a life guard.
 
S

Snagret

Member
Honestly, we should ban the use of animals in films for physical stunts like this. There are endless stories in Hollywood where they put animals in danger (or straight up kill them) just to get "their shot", and they still have the gall to slap "no animals were harmed in the making of this film" on the credits regardless of how completely untrue that is.
 
H

Hitman

Edmonton's milkshake attracts no boys.
Mentosrock said:
...WHAT? That dog was clinging to the edge of that wall like its life depended on it and it was surrounded by a group of assholes who it clearly recognized were trying to push it into a raging river (which most dogs would likely spot as a deadly threat). That's not disturbing. OKAY.
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Cats also cling as if there life deserves it when bathed. Children also squirm when being put into water to try to teach them to swim. Or baptisms.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
The dog would rather die than swim. "Oh no, where will we find another German shepherd? We must film this now."

Also, I refuse to believe Dennis Quaid allowed this to happen.
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
These threads are always interesting to me to read the people that 'don't get what the big deal is'. Lack of empathy for animals in these situations is something really weird to me, but I like to see the logic explained.

Really terrible video. Even if the dog was fine after, it's flipping the fuck out about being put in the water. It should have just ended there. Seeing pushing the dog into the water like this being compared to giving a cat a bath is sure.. interesting. If your cat was freaking out, you'd continue to shove it into water? We don't even use running water for our pets, we just use a small cup, or sponge and wash them that way.
 
K

Koomaster

Member
Could have been a bit traumatizing for the dog, but I doubt anyone on the set meant for him to come to harm. Everyone also seems to jump into action toward the end when the dog seems to be in actual danger.

Either way I assume the dog is fine now; at least I hope? If you want to boycott the movie over this one stunt I guess that's cool and all, but I wouldn't call a dog being scared of going into churning water with a bunch of people observing abuse. Poor judgement on the humans but I wouldn't vilify anybody over this.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
Koomaster said:
Could have been a bit traumatizing for the dog, but I doubt anyone on the set meant for him to come to harm. Everyone also seems to jump into action toward the end when the dog seems to be in actual danger.

Either way I assume the dog is fine now; at least I hope? If you want to boycott the movie over this one stunt I guess that's cool and all, but I wouldn't call a dog being scared of going into churning water with a bunch of people observing abuse. Poor judgement on the humans but I wouldn't vilify anybody over this.
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I don't think animal abuse requires intention. As a matter of fact, it mostly lacks thought of any kind.
 
I

Icolin

Banned
Major props to the person who recorded/released this footage. I bet the studio and its PR is in fucking shambles after this, and rightfully so. Absolutely horrific.
 
K

kopitarrulez_11

Member
Aurongel said:
Without footage of the dog entering the water it's really difficult to pin down where actual cruel treatment begins. It makes me question TMZ's intentions but at the same time I don't exactly want to give that trainer the benefit of the doubt. As someone who's worked with dog trainers, it did seem like he was trying to coax the dog into the water on his own terms instead of by direct force.
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I was gonna say they do look like they were trying to get him on his own terms you can even hear people trying talk him in like come on boy jump in
 
S

Spectone

Member
That water looks dangerous, if I saw water like that in real life I would not enter unless my life was in danger otherwise. A dog isn't rational like a human it acts on instinct. Instinctually you should not get in water that looks dangerous, to force a dog against its safety instincts for something that is not in its best interests is cruelty. Comparisons to bathing or pools are wrong a human would see this water and go nope.
 
K

Keyouta

Junior Member
Pretty disappointing that they'd still make the dog go into the rushing water when it clearly doesn't want to, not sure why people are defending their actions.
 
C

Capra

Member
So a dog's purpose is to suffer for our shitty entertainment. Sounds about right.

Fuck everyone involved in the making of this scene who allowed that dog to come to any harm.
 
D

DJChuy

Member
What an awful thing to do. My gf wants to see this film for some reason, so hopefully this will change her mind about seeing it in theaters.
 
K

Kyzer

Banned
the sad part isnt even the dog being put in water its the fact that he was like yo save me im falling in! and the guy acts like scar from lion king

also seeing the dog go underwater is real fucked
 
S

Speevy

Banned
kopitarrulez_11 said:
I was gonna say they do look like they were trying to get him on his own terms you can even hear people trying talk him in like come on boy jump in
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If you look at it purely as a filmmaking situation with nothing to do with the actual plight of the animal, you wouldn't convince an actor to jump into water from a helicopter if he thought he might die.

You'd get a stunt double and be done with it. Like...was there an ultimatum from the studio to get this dog into some raging water by the end of the day or they'll go over budget? Were they out of german shepherds?
 
P

paragonpro

Banned
Well fuck this movie. I hope it tanks and everyone who had a hand in hurting that dog is never ever given work again. The shits how could anyone treat a dog like this!?
 
K

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I've seen examples of trained rescue dogs who will leap into relatively calm water to swim to a person. Dogs can be very brave. Rushing rapids with a bank of loud, steel death rotors three feet away? That's crazy. Nobody should have even considered that an option for shooting the scene.

The dog looks to be the smartest animal on the set. He knew not to go near that shit.
 
L

Lima

Member
I think I'm just going to watch Hachi: A Dog's Tale again.

Edit: wait I just realized same director. Why does this dude love dog movies so much?
 
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