A Dog's Purpose author W. Bruce Cameron is staunchly defending the movie adaptation's set treatment of a German Shepherd named Hercules following outcry over a video release which showed the dog in distress while shooting a scene.

Cameron wrote on his Facebook page Friday that the viral video from the Dog's Purpose 2015 set, which dramatically surfaced on Wednesday, did not reflect the treatment Hercules, or other dogs, received.

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"I found the video we've all seen to be shocking because when I was on set, the ethic of everyone was the safety and comfort of the dogs," Cameron wrote, "I have since viewed footage taken of the day in question, when I wasn't there, and it paints an entirely different picture."

"The written commentary accompanying the edited video mischaracterizes what happened," Cameron wrote of the TMZ post which first highlighted the video. "The dog was not terrified and not thrown in the water — I've seen footage of Hercules earlier that joyfully jumping into the pool."

Dennis Quaid bonds with a dog named Buddy in 'A Dog’s Purpose.' ]© Joe Lederer, Dennis Quaid bonds with a dog named Buddy in 'A Dog’s Purpose.' ]
Cameron explained that the churning water of the pool was not the issue which put the dog in distress in the leaked video. Cameron wrote that Hercules had rehearsed the stunt but was not used to the location for the shot seen in the video.

"When (Hercules) was asked to perform the stunt from the other side of the pool, which was not how he had been doing it all, he balked," Cameron wrote. "The mistake was trying to dip the dog in the water to show him it was okay — the water wasn't the issue, it was the location that was the issue, and the dog happily did the stunt when he was allowed to return to the original spot."

As for the scene in the video when Hercules' head disappears below the water and crew members rush to his assistance, Cameron wrote that did not reflect the safety back-ups on set.

"I also didn't like it when Hercules' head briefly went under water," Cameron wrote. "But there was a scuba diver and a trainer in the pool to protect him. He loves the water, wasn't in danger and wasn't upset."

The surfaced video has caused an international furor, and brought concerned tweets from Dog's Purpose voice star Josh Gad and even director Lasse Hallstrom. Groups such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and online petitions have called for a movie boycott.

During the controversy, distributor Universal Pictures canceled Saturday's Dog's Purpose premiere in Hollywood and a planned press day.

The production company Amblin Entertainment is conducting a review of the filming.

Cameron questioned the motives of the unnamed people who released the 2015 video just before the Jan. 27 release of A Dog's Purpose.

"If the people who shot and edited the video thought something was wrong, why did they wait fifteen months to do anything about it, instead of immediately going to the authorities?" Cameron asked on Facebook.

"On a movie where the mantra was the safety and comfort of the dogs, mistakes were made, and everything needs to be done to make sure those errors are not repeated," Cameron wrote. "But the reason American Humane certifies that no animals were harmed during the making of the film is that no animals were harmed during the making of the film. I celebrate animal rescue and am proud of the values that show up in A Dog’s Purpose."