An independent investigation carried out by an organization that ensures animal safety in movies found that a controversial video from the sets of “A Dog’s Purpose” that showed a German Shepherd being forced into a pool of rushing water was “deliberately edited.” In a statement issued Friday, American Humane said that the video “mischaracterized the events on the set.”
The report’s findings confirmed “that no animals were harmed in those scenes and numerous preventative safety measures were in place.” According to the investigation, the video “was deliberately edited for the purpose of misleading the public and stoking outrage. In fact, the two scenes shown in the edited video were filmed at different times.”
The makers of “A Dog’s Purpose” came under fire after a clip released by TMZ last month showed the dog named Hercules clinging to a platform as a handler tried to force it into the water. After the video went viral, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for the boycott of the film, and the premiere was cancelled amid the controversy.
“The investigation and eyewitness reports affirmed that throughout its work on the set, the dog was treated with great care, attentiveness and respect,” American Humane said.
W. Bruce Cameron, the author of the book that inspired the film, responded last month to the controversial footage, raising doubts over the motive of the people who shot and released the video.
“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,” Cameron said in a statement to E! News. “If the people who shot and edited the video thought something was wrong, why did they wait 15 months to do anything about it, instead of immediately going to the authorities?”
Gavin Polone, the producer of the film, also spoke out about the footage, saying that it “portrays an inaccurate picture of what happened” and blamed PETA for promoting the “misleading” message.
Despite the controversies surrounding the Dennis Quaid-starring film, it opened to an estimated $18.4 million from 3,059 locations on Jan. 26, according to box office data from comScore.
“All things considered, this can be considered a solid result particularly in light of the firestorm surrounding the film, the PETA boycott and the whole discussion with respect to the movie,” Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at comScore said, according to the Wrap.
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