Authorities in California confirmed they’re investigating a popular YouTube personality who allegedly accidentally uploaded footage of herself hitting, pushing, and spitting on her dog.
The Verge reported that the video showing Brooke Houts and her Doberman puppy was quickly removed from her channel, which has more than 300,000 subscribers. Houts posts a variety of content to her channel, ranging from makeup tutorials to unsolved mysteries. The controversial clip was recently posted to Twitter—where it has amassed more than 33 million views as of Thursday afternoon.
At the beginning of the brief clip, Houts whispers to the viewers that she wants to trick her dog into walking through a door covered in plastic wrap. The video cuts to the dog walking on his hind legs towards Houts, who slaps him in the face and chases him out of the camera’s view.
In the next clip, Houts is sitting down when she grabs the dog by his neck and pins him to the floor before apparently spitting on him.
Houts is heard repeating that she loves the viewers moments before she violently shoves the puppy by his face. The video ends with Houts chasing him out of view a second time.
***WARNING: The video below is violent in nature. Please use discretion.***
SHOCKING! YouTuber @brookehouts uploads a unedited wrong video file to her channel! The Unedited version shows her ABUSING HER DOG! pic.twitter.com/3dKE3DvQVL
— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) August 7, 2019
BuzzFeed reported that the edited version of the dog prank video was posted to Houts’ channel and was met with backlash in the form 27,000 downvotes. The video in question appears to have been deleted as of Thursday afternoon.
On Tuesday, Houts released a statement to her Twitter page where she claimed her life “has been less than exceptional” lately and apologized to “anyone who has been affected negatively by the footage.” While Houts condemned her own actions, she claimed her 75-pound dog was exhibiting “unacceptable” behavior by jumping in her face with his mouth open.
“I want to clarify that I am NOT a dog abuser or animal abuser in any way, shape or form,” the statement read. “Anyone who has witnessed or heard true animal abuse will be able to clearly see that.”
Speaking with The Verge, the Los Angeles Police Department said their Animal Cruelty Task Force received “numerous” reports regarding Houts’ video. Police confirmed to BuzzFeed that an investigation is ongoing.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Twitter video screengrab]
