German animal trainer under fire over dog's 'Heil Hitler!' salute

London, Feb 1 (ANI): An animal trainer for German television and movie productions has been slammed for teaching a dog called Goldie to give the 'Heil Hitler!' salute.

Goldie raises her right paw in homage to the Fuehrer in a new production about the destruction of the airship Hindenburg that airs next weekend, reports the Telegraph.

The Zeppelin crossed the Atlantic in May, 1937, but crashed and burst into flames upon landing, killing 35 of the 97 people on board and bringing to an end the age of airship travel.

Goldie plays the pet of a cabaret artiste opposed to the Nazis in the two-part dramatization.

"Goldie is a professional film dog and has learned many things in his time," Hannes Jaenicke, the actor who will appear with him, said.

"It was my idea to get him to raise his paw in the Hitler salute. He got a biscuit each time he did it and an animal welfare specialist was on hand throughout. Animals are strictly regulated when they work for German TV," he said.

However, some politically correct animal lovers have branded the salute training a "form of cruelty."

Why make a poor dumb animal pay reverence to history's greatest killer," Jens Mueller from Berlin asked? (ANI)