Old Yeller was enough

Movies offer an escape from everyday life. That’s why I’m not a big fan of dog movies. They’re too everyday.

From the time I get up in the morning until I close my eyes at night, dogs rule my life. Oh, I try to ignore them, kick them out of the house, the chair, the bed, pretend I don’t hear them barking, scratching at the door, but they persist. They demand food, attention, medicine, grooming, exercise. They shadow me from room to room.

So when I watch a movie I choose anything else.

I certainly have no interest in sitting through a film about a dying dog. I saw Old Yeller when I was a kid and that was enough, apparently, to last me a lifetime.

A Dog’s Purpose looked like just one more of those movies about dying dogs until I watched the video of a German shepherd supposedly being abused during the filming. It wasn’t anything awful, just a trainer wrestling with a dog that didn’t want to jump into a pool.

It reminded me of what I go through every time I take Jem to the vet. He eagerly jumps out of the truck, realizes where we are, and quickly jumps back in. I have to put a leash on him to get him back out.

Spot and Ace, following Jem’s lead, become equally difficult.

I don’t beat them, but there is on occasion, some wrestling.

PETA has condemned the film, citing abuse. However, PETA is opposed to the use of any animals in movies. They are the same folks who lobbied the Ringling Bros. and Barnham and Baily Circus to get rid of their elephants. They got their wish. Unfortunately it came at great expense. The Greatest Show on Earth is calling it quits.

I doubt PETA will enjoy a similar victory over Hollywood. Dennis Quaid, who stars in the film, says he saw no abuse during the filming of A Dog’s Purpose, and says the video was edited and manipulated to make it look like abuse.

Whatever.

I won’t be going to the theater to see it anyway.

Spot’s going on 14 and Jem is 10. I can see the future and it features dying dogs. My dogs. A movie with the same theme holds little interest for me.

Like I said, I saw Old Yeller when I was a kid.

I’m still crying.

Parker Heinlein is at

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