The shocking video that seemed to show animal abuse during the filming of A Dog's Purpose was fake.

American Humane conducted an independent, third-party investigation into the video that was released on TMZ, which concluded that "no animals were harmed in those scenes and numerous preventative safety measures were in place".

The video "mischaracterised the events on the set" according to the report which also questioned the "motives and ethics" of the "individual or individuals" who "deliberately edited" the footage and waited until just before the movie's premiere to release it.

Ascot Elite Entertainment Group

For the video, two scenes were apparently edited together and were filmed at different times. The first scene was stopped after the dog showed signs of stress and the dog was never forced to swim in the water.

In fact, the dog in the video was "selected for his love of the water" and had been "conditioned for the water scenes over a course of six weeks".

"During the last scene, handlers immediately assisted the dog out of the water, at which point he was placed in a warming tent and received an examination that found no signs of stress," the report added.

However, American Humane noted that the handling of the dog in the first scene "should have been gentler and signs of stress recognised earlier", but they added signs of stress were recognised.

Universal

The video showed what appeared to be a German Shepherd in distress after reportedly being forced into rushing waters during filming. PETA had called for a boycott of the movie when the video surfaced.

A Dog's Purpose, starring Fortitude's Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson and Frozen's Josh Gad, was released in US cinemas last month and comes out in UK cinemas on April 14.

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