YouTube star Brooke Houts accidentally uploaded a disturbing video, which shows her hitting, seemingly spitting on and yelling at her dog. She shared the video on her YouTube channel on Tuesday.
The video sparked outrage by her followers and now the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating her for animal abuse, Houts tells her subscribers that she’s trying to prank her pooch — a Doberman named Sphinx.
When the dog excitedly jumps into the frame, Houts grows visibly angry and reprimands Sphinx by slapping him on the head.
She continues to berate the dog in the clip by yelling, “Stop!” and shoves him to the ground. She then appears to spit on him.
More footage of the incident shows Houts pushing Sphinx and shouting, “Lay down!”
LAPD tells PEOPLE, “We are aware of the incident. Our Animal Cruelty Task Force has received numerous complaints about the video and we are currently looking into the matter.” —People
The video has since been removed from her channel, but not before her viewers shared it on social media.
i’m so friggin disgusted. brooke houts abuses her dog for wanting affection. i am so angered by this. pic.twitter.com/gAsL1OmXs2
— 𝐥𝐢𝐯 | GEE FOLLOWS💘| sitc (@MultiBehzadi) August 7, 2019
YouTube Brooke Houts is under fire after accidentally uploading a video where she can be seen beating, shoving and spitting on her dog. pic.twitter.com/nNBUd6CIrx
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 7, 2019
brooke houts: “did i spit on my dog? no.”
also brooke houts: pic.twitter.com/8QtbqYYyXG
— 🌊 (@thenameisjamal) August 7, 2019
Yo @LAPDHQ @LACityPets @peta. Her name is Brooke Houts, She lives in LA and she’s an animal abuser. You might wanna rescue that dog. pic.twitter.com/hOjnrKvv9X
— some guy on the internet (@ChemicalMishap) August 7, 2019
She issued an apology on Twitter, acknowledging she should have reacted differently but said, “I am NOT a dog abuser or animal abuser in any way, shape, or form.”
Houts added her dog was not injured in the incident.
To everyone who has been commenting on my social media as of recently: pic.twitter.com/gnxUbfVHdf
— b (@brookehouts) August 7, 2019