January 25, 2017

Expensive dog movie — "A Dog's Purpose" — struggles for its life in the roiling waters of public opinion...

... after a video leaked out of one of the stunt dogs resisting pressure to serve his purpose of playing the role of a dog willingly leaping into roiling waters to save a human life.
Dennis Quaid, one of the stars of the film, said on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Monday that “the video does not tell the entire story,” and that the animals “were treated with the greatest respect and care and compassion.”...
The kind of people who would be interested in this movie are the kind of people who will feel they need to avoid it if they've heard the story at all. 

Here's Quaid — cheered on by gentle Ellen — paddling furiously in the raging current:



UPDATE: "Third-party report finds that the Dog’s Purpose video was intentionally misleading."

25 comments:

rhhardin said...

Read Vicki Hearne "Adam's Task" the essays on Washoe and "How to Say Fetch"

People are confused about what cruelty is, as she puts it.

Without even clicking on it.

Rae said...

I see a lazy, disrespectful dog not doing his job. Sad!

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The real problem with making the dog work like that is what it does to the meat (tough).

bagoh20 said...

Maybe we can find the dog a safe space and a participation trophy. Just like the rest of us, dogs get scared even when doing what we love. We are all designed to get scared easy and often, and to get over it quickly and often. Some people don't understand the value of the second part and so they wallow in the first. I'm sure the dog moved on undamaged very quickly. The terminally upset humans probably should be put to sleep.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Our dogs put up a bigger fight over having a bath. This being said, they really need a bath whereas I doubt the world really needs this movie.

MayBee said...

I have an old man dog and I can't imagine who this movie appeals to. Maybe someone who needs a deep, cleansing cry.

SayAahh said...

I'd rather watch Mondo Cane again.

Bob Ellison said...

That dog did not want to do what was asked of him. The handler man-handled the dog with the collar around the dog's neck.

The dog was scared. The film-maker wants to make money.

But yeah, my dogs fight like mad over a bathtub. We're not all dog-whisperers.

Bob Ellison said...

Dennis Quaid, one of the stars of the film, said on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Monday that “the video does not tell the entire story,” and that the animals “were treated with the greatest respect and care and compassion.”

The German shepherd, a 2-year-old named Hercules, is now “happy and healthy,” Amblin Entertainment, the film’s producer, and Universal Pictures, its distributor, said in a joint statement last week.

Mr. Polone, a vegan who said his will was set up to donate all of his money to animal charities when he dies...


Fer Chrissakes! Just say "I'm a money-grubbing jerk" and leave it at that.

Wince said...

Maybe the dog was one of those hot tub germaphobes?

'The average bather has about a tenth of a gram of feces in his gluteal fold, which is a nice way of saying butt crack,' said Gerba.

Wince said...

'The average Richard Gere has a Gerba in his gluteal fold, which is a nice way of saying butt crack.'

3MartiniLunch said...

Wow, professor, only one month into retirement and you're already on the couch watching Ellen? ;-)

3MartiniLunch said...

Wow, professor, only one month into retirement and you're already on the couch watching Ellen? ;-)

3MartiniLunch said...

Wow, professor, only one month into retirement and you're already on the couch watching Ellen? ;-)

Unknown said...

I think DeGeneres and Quaid are using "respect" and "love" very loosely. They project their feelings onto the dog and then interpret the projection as if it were real. You should respect animals, all of them (I myself am very respectful of grizzlies, for example). And the respect is based on understanding what animals do, what motivates them, how to engage with them so they will (sometimes) do what you want them to do (instead of doing what *they* want *you* to do: which in my experience with dogs, is what usually happens!).

But the respect = love thing points toward animals being considered as morally and legally equal to human beings, or even privileged in some respects to human beings. And at the end of the clip I think DeGeneres started to go there, talking about the need to speak out for animals "because they have no voices." This is an extension, unwarranted IMHO, of the Progressive trope about one or another grievance-group being justified in shouting or breaking stuff, because it "refuses to be silenced any more." Really, folks. Get a grip.

Danno said...

I think 3martinilunch has already had his limit.

Mike Sylwester said...

I recently watched the 1957 movie "Old Yeller". It's obvious that animals were treated cruelly while that movie was made. Dogs chase rabbits. Animals fight against each other. And so forth.

I searched the Internet briefly but did not find a good explanation of how those animal scenes were filmed.

BJM said...

As a life long dog owner I know better than to change an established routine and expect the same results. Dogs are routine oriented, that's how one trains them.

After spending weeks training the dog to enter and exit from a given point, of course the dog would be puzzled and anxious, not of the water, but the new entry point. The trainer should have anticipated that changing the routine might be problematic. Smart dog, dumb people.

So yes, the production company, director and trainer should be fined as they did indeed cause the animal unnecessary stress by arbitrarily changing the dog's work environment.

MikeD said...

"The American Humane Association, which monitors animals on movie sets and had a representative present during filming, said on Tuesday that the video was “misleading and edited.” Production was stopped after Hercules showed signs of stress, and he was not forced to swim, it said."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/arts/a-dogs-purpose-abuse-video-scandal.html?_r=0

FullMoon said...

Ignorance is Bliss said... [hush]​[hide comment]

The real problem with making the dog work like that is what it does to the meat (tough).

Crockpot. Beef broth. celery, carrots, onions. Set it on low , go to work. Tender by dinner time.
Old Kenyan recipe.

FullMoon said...

Danno said...

I think 3martinilunch has already had his limit.


His username fits.

Fernandinande said...

If they'd been using a Lab or Newfie the problem would've been keeping the dog out of the water.

Jan R. said...

As a dog person and the owner of a much-beloved German Shepherd, I was at first angry at the story. Then I saw this account in Hollywood Reporter (I know), and it changed my view.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gavin-polone-a-dogs-purpose-outcry-what-happened-whos-blame-967160

This is PETA using false information to harm a film that actually celebrates the beauty of the relationship between human beings and their dogs.

Dan said...

PETA has no honor!

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

PETA is basically sh@t. I repeat that Ingrid Newkirk is an evil human being. PETA captures feral cats, puts them nominally "up for adoption" (except that they're feral, and therefore unadoptable), waits a week, and then asphyxiates them and throws them in the Dumpster. This they call the "ethical treatment of animals." Roughly as "ethical" as the Holocaust.

I work with Salem Friends of Felines, which is a no-kill shelter. My mom works with a trap/neuter/release program in Maryland. Those are the right way to go.