Dennis Quaid says accusations of animal abuse on the set of 'A Dog's Purpose' were "a scam".
Dennis Quaid
The 66-year-old actor discussed a video from the set of the 2017 movie which appeared to show a German Shepherd named Hercules resisting during a scene in the water but Dennis insists that all animals were protected during filming.
Speaking on his new podcast, 'The Pet Show', he said: "What happened was the dog jumps into the water ... there were divers, scuba divers, three of them, underneath the water.
"One of the trainers reached down to give the dog a rest, and he pulled him up, and it looks like he's pulling him up and choking him by the collar.
"What it doesn't show, is that there's a table right below the dog, so the dog can rest his feet on the table. He's not just being held up."
Referring to another video that showed Hercules sinking in a pool, he said: "Well there were two divers waiting for him right there, it wasn't even a second and a half. They lifted him up, handed him to the trainer right by the pool and the dog didn't even wait to get a collar on, he ran right to the other side of the pool to do it again. He loved it."
After an independent investigation following the publication of the videos, it was found that "preventative safety measures were in place" and the videos were "deliberately edited to mislead the public".
Dennis went on to star in the 'A Dog's Life' sequel, 'A Dog's Journey' in 2019, alongside Josh Gad and Betty Gilpin.
Both movies are based on the best-selling books from author W. Bruce Cameron, while the screenplay has been written by Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Wally Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes.
The original movie told the story of a devoted dog (Gad) who discovers the meaning of its own existence through the lives of the humans it teaches about love.
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