PETA calls for boycott of 'A Dog's Purpose' after disturbing video surfaces

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has called for a boycott of the family film A Dog's Purpose, after video surfaced Wednesday that appears to show one of the movie's star dogs performing under duress.

TMZ posted the video with the headline "Terrified German Shepherd forced into turbulent water." The video, which TMZ says was shot on the set in 2015, purports to show a rescue scene in which the trainer looks to be forcing the dog into a pool of rushing water, as the dog repeatedly claws to stay on land.

The edited video then shows what appears to be the same German Shepherd sinking in the pool as one crew member yells "Cut it!" and others rush over to help the animal.

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"New footage shows a terrified dog who is forced into churning water on set," PETA senior vice president Lisa Lange said in a statement. "At one point, a dog who is in danger of drowning has to be rescued."

Lange called for a boycott of the film, which opens Jan. 27.

PETA is calling on dog lovers "to boycott the film in order to send the message that dogs and other animals should be treated humanely, not as movie props," Lange said.

Distributor Universal Pictures did not respond to multiple requests from USA TODAY for comment.

Movie sets are monitored by safety representatives from the American Humane Association. The association released a statement to USA TODAY promising a third-party investigation into the video.

"American Humane has reviewed the video and we are disturbed and concerned by the footage. When the dog showed signs of resistance to jumping in the water, the scene should have been stopped," the statement read.

"We are placing the safety representative who was on the set on administrative leave immediately and are bringing in an independent third party to conduct an investigation into this matter."

Josh Gad, the actor who voices the dog characters in A Dog's Purpose, tweeted a statement Wednesday after seeing the video. The "fervent supporter of organizations like PETA" said he was seeking an "explanation for these disturbing images" from the film's production company and distributor.

As a voice actor, Gad was never on the film set.

The Frozen star said he agreed to lend his voice to the project because A Dog's Purpose was "one of the most beautiful love letters to animals I have ever seen."

"Today, however, I saw a disturbing video that appears to show a scared German Shepard being forced to perform a stunt on the set of this film," Gad wrote, adding, "I was shaken and sad to see any animal put in a situation against its will."

Production company Amblin Entertainment issued a statement late Wednesday saying the German Shepherd seen in the footage, named Hercules, was “happy and healthy." The film production team “followed rigorous protocols to foster an ethical and safe environment for the animals.”

There were several days of rehearsal for the water scenes “to ensure Hercules was comfortable with all of the stunts," according to the statement. “But on the day of the shoot, ‪Hercules did not want to perform the stunt portrayed on the tape so the Amblin production team did not proceed with filming that shot.”

The statement said the “edited footage” would be reviewed.

“Amblin is confident that great care and concern was shown for the German Shepherd Hercules, as well as for all of the other dogs featured throughout the production of the film,” the statement said.

Director Lasse Hallstrom took to Twitter Wednesday to address the issue: "I did not witness these actions. We were all committed to providing a loving and safe environment for all the animals in the film."