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The group responsible for ensuring animal safety on movie sets has suspended a staff monitor after video emerged Wednesday of a German shepherd being forced into churning water for the upcoming film A Dog's Purpose.
The footage, which was reportedly filmed in a pool outside Winnipeg, Canada, in November 2015, was published by TMZ on Wednesday and shows the dog struggling to avoid going into the water.
“Don’t worry, it’s warm water at least,” a man can be heard saying on the video. “He ain't gonna calm down 'till he goes in the water. Just gotta throw him in.
“He wants to get away, just throw him in.”
Moments after the German shepherd — for a scene in which it jumps in to save a kidnapped girl from drowning — is in the water, it appears to go under, prompting someone to yell “Cut it! Cut it!” as handlers rush in to retrieve the dog.
The American Humane Association (AHA), which enforces safety guidelines for animals during filming, told BuzzFeed News in a statement that it was “disturbed and concerned” by the footage.
“When the dog showed signs of resistance to jumping in the water, the scene should have been stopped,” the AHA said. “We are placing the safety representative who was on the set on administrative leave immediately and are bringing in an independent third party to conduct an investigation into this matter.”
Universal / Via universalpictures.com
The studio and producers behind A Dog's Purpose, which is set to open Jan. 27, did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment. But Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures told TMZ they were investigating the matter:
Fostering a safe environment and ensuring the ethical treatment of our animal actors was of the utmost importance to those involved in making this film and we will look into the circumstances surrounding this video.
Lasse Hallström, the film’s director who TMZ reported was on set at the time, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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