Animal treatment questions cancel 'A Dog's Purpose' premiere

January 20, 2017 at 10:43 a.m. | Updated January 20, 2017 at 10:45 a.m.

by Associated Press

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dennis Quaid with a dog, voiced by Josh Gad, in a scene from "A Dog's Purpose." A spokesman for American Humane said Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017 that it has suspended its safety representative who worked on the set of the film when a frightened German shepherd, not shown, was forced into churning waters. (Joe Lederer/Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dennis Quaid with a dog, voiced by Josh Gad, in a scene from "A Dog's Purpose." A spokesman for American Humane said Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017 that it has suspended its safety representative who worked on the set of the film when a frightened German shepherd, not shown, was forced into churning waters. (Joe Lederer/Universal Pictures via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - This weekend's premiere of "A Dog's Purpose" has been canceled following the release of a video that appears to show a frightened dog being forced into churning water during production of the film.

TMZ published video Wednesday that shows a man struggling to put a dog into a pool of rushing water while the dog continually fights to stay out.

Producer Amblin Entertainment and distributor Universal Pictures haven't disputed the authenticity of the footage.

They say in a joint statement that Universal decided to cancel the premiere because Amblin's review of the video "is still ongoing." The statement says the companies have been assured the German shepherd wasn't harmed.

The companies say the film will be released nationwide as scheduled Jan. 27.

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