Many social media celebrities love to show off their pets. There’s nothing people on the internet love more than pictures and videos of dogs and cats.
But sometimes, this can lead to controversy. We’ve seen many stories of online influencers getting backlash after appearing to harm their pets on camera.
But one influencer is in a different kind of controversy, after her decision to have her pet dog euthanized after it bit her son triggered a heated online debate.
Nikki Phillippi is a social media influencer with nearly 1.3 million followers on YouTube and 439,000 on Instagram. Her channel usually consist of parenting videos and diet and makeup advice. But one recent post about the death of her dog has caused widespread controversy.
Phillippi recently shared an Instagram post announcing the death of her dog Bowser, also called McTrowsen. “I’m so grateful for our time with you. You were a mini horse, a shark, a bear, a mouse, a dinosaur and Dans best friend all in one,” she wrote on Instagram with photos of her with her dog.
While a post like this would usually garner sympathy online, fans were shocked by the fact that the influencer had the dog euthanized, following a biting incident with her son, Logan.
“Bowser had an aggressive side that reared it’s ugly head a few times over the years,” she wrote. “After a lot of counsel, we decided it was time for Bowser to pass peacefully on.”
“I know a lot of you will be shocked to hear this… my brain is still shocked,” she wrote. “We didn’t want to make this decision…as I’m sure you can imagine. I’m not kidding when I say this was one of the saddest days of my life.”
A backlash ensued, with fans questioning why she resorted to having the dog euthanized when she could’ve had him rehomed instead. Phillippi has since set her Instagram to private, but E! Online captured a few of the comments.
“Woah… what about adoption? At the LEAST,” one comment read. “Not a judgmental person here but wow, this saddens my heart and truly rubs me the wrong way.”
“Surely, With over 400 k followers could you not have shared the story prior to him being put down?” another said. “And guaranteed a network of people would have rallied together to save him. So very TRAGIC.”
But Nikki and her husband Dan responded to the backlash in a YouTube video, where they said they did attempt to rehome Bowser but were advised that his behavior was too aggressive.
“We actually attempted to rehome Bowser,” she said. “We contacted the Humane Society, and we had a long discussion with someone over there. … Basically, she made it very clear to us that rehoming Bowser was not an option because he had been with us from birth.”
While some fans have understood the couple’s decision, the reaction has remained overwhelmingly negative. They have not given any further response or statements, though YouTube comments have been turned off and Nikki’s Instagram has been set to private.
What do you think of this story? Were they wrong to have their dog euthanized or was it the right thing to do in this situation?
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