Influencer sparks outrage by putting down dog because he bit son and was ‘too old to rehome’

A YouTube influencer and her husband have come under fire for putting their Bull Terrier dog down because he bit their son and claimed the pet was “too old to rehome.”

Nikki Phillippi shared a video on May 4 to her 1.29 million subscribers titled: “We have some really sad news” and also posted the news to her Instagram account too. Her and her husband detail why they made the decision to put their dog Bowser down due to displays of aggression.

Referring to her son, Logan in the Instagram post, she wrote: “Bowser had an aggressive side that reared it’s ugly head a few times over the years ... and recently he bit Logan,”

“After a lot of counsel, we decided it was time for Bowser to pass peacefully on.”

“We didn’t want to make this decision...as I’m sure you can imagine,” the caption on the post reads. “I’m not kidding when I say this was one of the saddest days of my life.”

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Phillippi and her husband Dan gave further detail about their decision in the YouTube video saying that Bowser had “seriously injured a couple different dogs” in the past and that he had injured their son Logan after he tried to take food from the dog.

They also mentioned that they considered putting Bowser down in the past due to a moment of “aggression” five years ago.

Bowser, the Bull Terrier was put down because of “displays of aggression” according to Phillippi and her husband Dan.

The lifestyle influencer stated that they did attempt to find a new home for their dog, but were told that rehoming wasn’t an option after consulting with a humane society.

The announcement has caused online backlash towards the couple, with viewers and fellow influencers saying that they should have sought out every other option - such as through mitigating his behavior, or rehoming the Bull Terrier - before resorting to euthanise him.

As a result, comments on the YouTube video are turned off but that didn’t stop people slating the couple on Phillippi’s Instagram post.

One person wrote: “Some dogs can’t live with kids but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed to live.”

“Shame on you! There’s definitely more options than just putting your dog down for this,” another person replied.

A third person said: “Wow. This is appalling. So many better options and you basically chose to kill him.”

“You PUT HIM DOWN? Very wrong of you,” someone else responded.

Another said: “Surely, With over 400 k followers could you not have shared the story prior to him being put down? And guaranteed a network of people would have rallied together to save him. So very TRAGIC.”