Unless you're living under a rock, you may have heard of the animal abuse video that has recently surfaced from the set of the movie "A Dog's Purpose." The video shows a dog handler forcing a German shepherd into a water rapid simulator (and the dog is clearly not having it.) The video is then edited to show the dog submerged under water and nearly drowning.
For obvious reasons, this video upset a lot of people. Not only is the dog trainer forcing the dog to do something against his will. It's also ironic and very disturbing that this took place behind the scenes of a movie that celebrates a dog's love for his/her masters. Many people have decided to boycott the movie due to the circumstances of how the movie was filmed.
I read the book a few months ago and was really looking forward to watching the movie. W. Bruce Cameron wrote a tear jerking novel with such great delivery. It's really unfortunate that the actions of an unprofessional dog handler has tainted his beautiful story. Due to the controversy surrounding the movie, now the author is being shunned. Cameron released a statement on his official facebook page stating that he wasn't on set when this all went down. He's currently looking into the situation and investigating exactly what happened.
For those people who've decided to boycott this film (and there's a lot of them), my personal recommendation would be to at least read the book. I understand the disturbing content in which the film was made, but please don't deprive yourself of this amazing book about love and friendship. It's written beautifully and with so much heart and soul. However, you may need to have a box of tissues nearby as I was completely red eyed and sobbing through out half of the book. Also keep in mind that it may give you some Marley and Me flashbacks. Nevertheless, the author shouldn't be blamed for the actions of an irresponsible animal handler.
