YouTuber accused of animal cruelty over prank video says ‘I am not a dog abuser’

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A YouTuber has addressed a widespread backlash after she uploaded unedited footage of her hitting, pushing, and yelling at her doberman.

Brooke Houts, who regularly features her dog Sphinx in her videos, appeared to accidentally posted uncut footage.

The video was originally meant to be a prank of her dog running into plastic wrap, but the 20-year-old instead posted a series of shocking clips which captured the attention of both fellow YouTubers and Peta.

In a statement shared to Twitter, Brooke Houts attempted to explain and defend her actions.

Houts began the statement by apologising to anyone who has been “affected negatively” by the footage, before informing her followers that her “outside life has been less than exceptional” recently, but that she is “not going to play the victim card”.

“That being said, this does NOT justify me yelling at my dog in the way that I did, and I’m fully aware of that. Should I have gotten as angry as I did in the video? No. Should I have raised my voice and yelled at him? No. However, when my 75 lb. Doberman is jumping up in my face with his mouth open, I do, as a dog parent, have to show him that this behaviour is unacceptable. But I want to make it known, REGARDLESS of what my dog does, I should not have acted that way towards him,” Houts wrote.

She also defended herself against accusations that she is an animal abuser, stating that if her dog was “audibly and physically in pain” from her actions, it “would be a different story”.

“I am getting my dog into training, and I’m looking at ways to improve how I personally train him at home. I am sorry you guys had to watch that footage and were upset by it, and I’m sorry to my dog for raising my voice and acting aggressively,” she adds.

The lengthy statement also includes Houts’ explanation for briefly deactivating her Twitter account.

Despite the apology, she has continued to face criticism for her behaviour, which is currently being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Animal Cruelty unit, TMZ reports.