So let’s talk about that “Dog’s Purpose” video

Universal Pictures

If you haven’t heard — the upcoming major motion picture, “A Dog’s Purpose” — based on the best-selling novel by W. Bruce Cameron has been beset with a controversy.

The controversy is not that the movie looks particularly emotionally manipulative (which it does) but footage obtained by TMZ shows a harrowing and disturbing sequence where a scared German Shepherd is forced into a pool of raging water against its will.

All this while the dog desperately tries to cling to the trainer and escape, the whole video escalates to a point where a voice can be heard saying, “He ain’t gonna calm down ‘til he goes in the water. Just got to throw him in.”

The part that honestly upset me the most as a dog owner was when the German shepherd, struggling to stay above water suddenly goes under. Everyone flips and rushes toward the pool, where the animal just disappeared, shouting, “Cut it!”

Is it animal abuse? See for yourself:

I was lucky to speak to Rachel Finney, Executive director for Capital Area Humane Society here in Columbus. She knows a lot about animal welfare and cruelty and helped put this video both into perspective and urged guidance for those interested in doing more.

“The snippet of video I saw — it is so unfortunate to see any animal go through that kind of stress and torment, especially for entertainment. It really seems from that video, that the systems in place that would help protect this animal failed. I want to stress that I obviously wasn’t there, but from the video it definitely looks like that dog is in very real distress.”

The Capital Area Humane Society is a nonprofit, animal welfare agency and does have the ability to make arrests when it comes to their investigations. Every year, they make 6,000 visits for animal cruelty reports here in Central Ohio.

Finney addressed the social media fervor surrounding the video, placing an emphasis on speaking out. Watching the video, you’ll notice that no one speaks out that something is wrong and that, to Finney, was perhaps the most upsetting.

“While it is great to see people engaged socially with animal welfare most times that just isn’t enough and we should be pushing ourselves to say something when we see something. We should advocating for these causes. If you see a malnourished dog, say something. If you see a horse with unaddressed wounds, say something. The most important thing is to make that call so our investigators can do their jobs. As long as you’re worried and call, our team will determine if what is happening cruelty to that animal.”

Finney urged people to get involved and if the video in question made your blood boil (like it did mine) she simply ask you speak up for the animals that “can’t speak for themselves”

You can report animal cruelty via the Capital Area Humane Society’s website, or you can call (614) 777-7387 ext. 250 to reach confidential voice-mail. They’ll need the street address and zip code where the animal is located. Leaving a return phone number allows their Cruelty Dispatcher to contact you for further information. They are the largest animal cruelty investigation agency in the state.

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