A Dog's Purpose

[coppercleaner]

The so called "trainer / handler" is a complete idiot for forcing the dog into the pool under what was clearly a very fearful situation for the animal. I train retriever gun dogs that are expected to make retrieves in the water. At NO time is any retriever that I train forced or thrown into the water, rather, they are conditioned to love the water and any associated work in aquatic environments by methodical exposure that builds related and increasing confidence and skills over a graduated line of time.

This is the crux of my anger at this entire situation. I don't need to see any footage either before or after what is shown, to know that dog was scared to death. How will this animal react to stressful situations from that day forward? Will he trust people again? In your opinion, do you feel he will be able to get over the anxiety he endured?

I am proud to be from Ohio where we now have "Goddard's Law". It states the following:

Goddard’s Law makes it a fifth degree felony to knowingly cause serious physical harm to a companion animal, which is defined as activities involving a substantial risk of death, a partial or permanent incapacity, long-term pain, or deprivation of food, water and shelter.

This law was passed by the untiring work of a well-known Cleveland weatherman. There should be no reason this should not be passed in every state.

[LucyTudeOn4Feet]

I don't see any grey area here. I don't care that the video is edited at the end, there is clearly a segment that is NOT edited. I am angered at the several seconds where it is clear that they dog did not want to go into the water at that moment, and is clawing at the ground to get away, and clawing up the side of the pool. That should not have continued as long as it did. At the moment the dog became that stressed, the dog should have been released and led away to try another time.
And this clip that is going around now is missing the part where the dog was dumped into the water. So, comments are being made on something that is not even the original video released.

[Jeff]

Well, beside the Animal abuses. About the book, I quit reading it a couple chapters in. We discussed this book before on the forums. Why I quit reading the book, if you haven't guessed from the trailers, then SPOILER.

Basically the dog keeps dying and coming back, dying and coming back, dying and coming back. A dog trying to find it's purpose. I know the purpose part is a good story, I won't reveal the story part it was just several dogs dying over and over again and very visual. Every single one of these deaths was hard, some by stupid people like one time left in a hot car for example. I just honestly couldn't take all the dog deaths. The book just left me feeling sick so I quit reading it without hesitation. I don't know for sure but I would guess the scene being discussed with the dog looking like it was drowning was because that was another death of the dog. So before you go to the movie, just be aware there is a lot of dogs dying in it trying to find their purpose. Which they do but I read a book or listen to a story for the journey, this journey was full of nothing but dogs dying. Sure some heroically, some by stupidity of humans, still a lot of death.

[LucyTudeOn4Feet]

Jeff, I couldn't read the book for that exact reason! My brother gave me the book last Christmas, when Lucy was getting close to the end of her life. She passed on Jan. 5, so in December, we knew our time was very limited. I was like WTF kind of gift is that? I didn't even finish the first chapter, and sent it off to Goodwill.

[Tanya]

Well, beside the Animal abuses. About the book, I quit reading it a couple chapters in. We discussed this book before on the forums. Why I quit reading the book, if you haven't guessed from the trailers, then SPOILER.

Basically the dog keeps dying and coming back, dying and coming back, dying and coming back. A dog trying to find it's purpose. I know the purpose part is a good story, I won't reveal the story part it was just several dogs dying over and over again and very visual. Every single one of these deaths was hard, some by stupid people like one time left in a hot car for example. I just honestly couldn't take all the dog deaths. The book just left me feeling sick so I quit reading it without hesitation. I don't know for sure but I would guess the scene being discussed with the dog looking like it was drowning was because that was another death of the dog. So before you go to the movie, just be aware there is a lot of dogs dying in it trying to find their purpose. Which they do but I read a book or listen to a story for the journey, this journey was full of nothing but dogs dying. Sure some heroically, some by stupidity of humans, still a lot of death.

i'll be honest - i had to stop the trailer after about 15 seconds. I don't know if I"im just struggling with loosing penny and rocky being old (I know our time is limited (more or less) that I really don't want to imagine a dog coming back like that. over and over. i just can't handle the idea. Especially as many lives won't be "good" by any means. I can't handle dogs dying in movies right now. (sure I can handle tons of humans dying in scary movies though :P )

[Snowshoe]

I don't understand why the narrator kept going on about the prong collar when most of what I saw was mental abuse and near drowning. Unless the part with the dog dangling in the pool, held by the collar, is that a prong collar? I could see that collars were martingales, which could be prongs or not. Very upsetting to watch that.

I'm re-reading "The Plague Dogs" by Richard Adams, who also wrote "Watership Down." In Plague Dogs animals are used horribly for scientific research. How long it takes a dog to give up while drowning is one of the studies inflicted on Rowf. That GSD's trainer should have read it.

[Sue-Ram]

Did anybody see A Time to Kill? The GS video made me think of the scene in the courtroom. When I look at the GS I try to image it was a child and it never would have been allowed.

A Time To Kill - Matthew McConaugheys final monologue (Part 2) - YouTube

[Shelley]

An Update

Official statement from W. Bruce Cameron
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?
I have since viewed footage taken of the day in question, when I wasn’t there, and it paints an entirely different picture.
The written commentary accompanying the edited video mischaracterizes what happened. The dog was not terrified and not thrown in the water—I’ve seen footage of Hercules earlier that day joyfully jumping in the pool. When he was asked to perform the stunt from the other side of the pool, which was not how he had been doing it all day, he balked. The mistake was trying to dip the dog in the water to show him it was okay—the water wasn’t his issue, it was the location that was the issue, and the dog happily did the stunt when he was allowed to return to his original spot.
I also didn’t like it when Hercules’s head briefly went under water, but there was a scuba diver and a trainer in the pool to protect him. He loves the water, wasn’t in danger, and wasn’t upset.
On a movie where the mantra was the safety and comfort of the dogs, mistakes were made, and everything needs to be done to make sure those errors are not repeated. But the reason American Humane certifies that no animals were harmed during the making of the film is that no animals were harmed during the making of the film.
I celebrate animal rescue and am proud of the values that show up in A Dog’s Purpose. -- W. Bruce Cameron 1/20/17

[Berna]

I can't say I'm satisfied with that answer....

[LucyTudeOn4Feet]

An Update

Official statement from W. Bruce Cameron
First I want to thank everyone—and there have been literally thousands of you...
...
I celebrate animal rescue and am proud of the values that show up in A Dog’s Purpose. -- W. Bruce Cameron 1/20/17

A party who has a vested interest in the success of the film. Mmmhmm.