Detailed Animal Action Report

American Humane Society closely monitored every scene involving animals in this movie to ensure their safety, comfort and well-being. From the moment the dog trots into the kitchen for a peanut butter treat, to when he calmly lies on his side while the actors go about their scene, he was guided and cued by a trusted trainer just off-camera. Each moment was carefully rehearsed, using positive reinforcement and natural behaviors. The owl’s appearance was filmed separately in a studio environment, where expert trainers safely guided his short flight to a soft perch designed to look like a streetlight. Throughout filming, animals were treated with kindness and care, creating a safe space for them to shine on screen, ensuring that No Animals Were Harmed™

Full Details:

In the scene where the two actors stand in the kitchen and a dog enters, and the man feeds the dog from a turkey baster, prior to filming the scene the dog was walked to the set by his trainer. When they arrived, the dog was placed on his mark. The actor stood in front of the dog holding a turkey baster with peanut butter on the end of it. On action, the dog was told to “go to” the actor. The dog walked to him and licked the peanut butter off the baster as the actress kneeled down and pet him from the other side.

When the dog lies on his side with the actor pretending to make sausages behind him, the trainer walked the dog to set and placed him on the ground near the actor who’s pretending to stuff sausages at the kitchen counter. Just before filming, the trainer removed the leash and told him to stay on his side. Meanwhile the actress stood behind the dog acting like she’s making crafts. On action, the actress stabbed a box with scissors while the other actor stuffed sausage. They exchange dialogue. The trainer remained off-camera cuing the dog to remain lying on his side during the entire scene.

In the scene where the actor is about to start his car and he sees an owl standing on a streetlight, the owl was filmed as a separate insert shot with no actors in the studio. Prior to filming, the trainers carried the owl to the set in a crate. The trainer took the owl out of the crate, placed him on a ladder and tied a line to his anklets. Then they placed a perch covered in turf on the top of another ladder that will look like a streetlight where he’ll land and eat. On action, the trainer released the owl from the top of the ladder and the other trainer called him to the perch that looks like a streetlight. The owl flew to the perch easily. They took some shots of the owl standing on top of the perch/streetlight, before wrapping him for the day. After shooting the scene, the owl was taken back to his crate and taken home.