Dennis Quaid came out publicly to defend the animal trainers on the set of “A Dog’s Purpose,” telling an interviewer that the video made public last week did not portray the situation accurately.
“My experience is that the animals were treated great. There was no animal abuse,” Quaid told Entertainment Tonight on Monday.
A video that appeared to show a scared German shepherd dog being forced into the water surfaced last week and forced Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment to cancel the premiere and accompanying press tour while they conducted an investigation.
The actor further stated that the footage was taken out of context and edited, and that the dog was not actually forced into the water. That same dog, earlier in the day, went into the water just fine and “had to be restrained, actually, from going into the water many times during that day,” he said to Entertainment Tonight.
Quaid said that the dog was taken out of the water and that it was probably just tired because it was the end of the filming day.
Producer Gavin Polone wrote in an op-ed in The Hollywood Reporter that the dog was switched from the left to the right side and he was just unfamiliar with that position and balked and reiterated that the dog was not actually forced to do anything.
Quaid said he was angry about the video, which he felt was purposely released right before the movie premiere, which is now scheduled for Jan. 27. “I think it’s a scam, to tell you the truth,” he told Entertainment Tonight.
“A Dog’s Purpose” is a story of a dog who is repeatedly reincarnated into different breeds in order to return to his master throughout his lifetime.
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