As most of the nation has been disturbed by the newly leaked viral video from a behind the scenes clip of the mistreatment of a german shepherd in the new movie "A Dog's Purpose," eyebrows have been raised and heated controversy has taken social media by storm in the past week.

If you're anything like I am, your love for dogs left you with a twisted stomach and unable to finish watching the 40 second clip. The first thought to flash through my mind was, "Interesting to see what is going on to create a movie honoring dogs and how much they mean to people". My excitement to see this movie quickly disappeared, which is a big downer for someone who has never lived a day of her life without a dog.

As frustrating as this was to many people over the past week, I think it has brought awareness to the elephant in the room we all like to pretend doesn't exist. Most of us animal owners are able to come home and love our own dogs, treat them the way they deserve, and turn our heads to what goes on outside of our bubbles every day.

If anything at all could possibly be looked at in a positive light throughout this leaked video, it could be the awareness of simple animal abuse that goes on every day. From the outside looking in, thousands of us were bursting at the seams to see a video that would hit so close to home for those who have four-legged family members. Never would we have thought that such an honoring movie would bring the opposite effect into play.

There is no moral to the story, or simple fix to such a large problem. Simply love your animals a little extra today, and keep an eye out for those in need of a little TLC.

“This was, I decided, my purpose as a dog, to comfort the boy whenever he needed me. Sometimes”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

Anyone who has been lucky enough to experience the unconditional loyalty and love from a dog should be considered blessed beyond belief.