The Problem with 'A Dog's Purpose' and Animals in Film

Anyone, who had been on the internets in the past week, has probably seen the allegations of animal cruelty on the set of the movie "A Dog's Purpose". Apparently, the trainer was trying to coerce an unwilling german shepherd into a pool of rushing water, and then, that pooch struggled swimming in the turbulent rush of water.

Plenty of evidence has come out to prove that the dog was not forced into the water, and the two clips in question were completely separate events. The Filmmakers came out to say that the dog is perfectly fine, something that I actually believe, but this is proof of a bigger problem. There is absolutely no reason for putting the dog in that water.

Anyone with basic common sense and a decent sense of humanity can come to the conclusion that they should not have put that dog in the water. This is the 21st Century, and modern filmmaking technology is incredible. With the introduction of CGI technology into mainstream movies, it becomes obvious that there is no reason to put that dog in a dangerous situation. many other options could have been pursued. They could have CGI'ed a dog into the film, which may have looked a little strange, or, perhaps the best option, they could have put the dog in calmer water and altered the water to make it look more dangerous.

The fact of the matter remains: that dog did not know it was not in danger. That dog doesn't know what a movie is, and has no clue as to what safety precautions were taken to protect it. We should not be placing clueless animals into dangerous situations for the purposes of our entertainment. Completely unacceptable.