Cesar Millan, noted Dog Whisperer, is under investigation for animal cruelty after a dog he was training on his current Nat GEO WILD show Cesar 911 bit a pig until it bled.
On Thursday night, according to TMZ, L.A. County Animal Control authorities visited Millan’s Santa Clarita, California property, following up on a complaint after his show aired footage of a pig being bitten by a dog named Simon. Simon’s owner also has pet pigs and Simon had attacked them before, which was what Millan was called in to correct. Authorities were looking into the injured pig’s whereabouts and its condition; Deputy Director Danny Ubario of L.A. County Animal Control told The Wrap that his organization is “investigating the matter.”
Millan is the host of the Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan and a hero to dog owners who’ve used his training tips to raise their own pups since 2004. Millan is currently hosting Cesar 911 on Nat Geo WILD, which has been on air since 2014.
Nat GEO WILD released a lengthy statement to the Wrap supporting their host and explaining the situation, which they say is a misunderstanding:
“Cesar Millan has dedicated his life to helping dogs and to showing how even the most difficult “problem dog” can be rescued and rehabilitated. In a recent episode of the Nat Geo WILD series “Cesar 911,” Cesar works with an aggressive French bulldog/terrier mix named Simon, who has a history of attacking other animals, including his owner’s pet potbellied pigs. A short clip from the episode was shared online and showed Simon chasing a pig and nipping its ear, causing the ear to bleed. The clip caused some concern for viewers who did not see or understand the full context of the encounter.
“We have included an additional clip from the same episode [click here to download] to provide missing context. Cesar has created a safe and controlled environment at his Dog Psychology Center (DPC) in California in which to rehabilitate some of the most extreme — or “red zone” — cases of dog aggression, such as Simon’s. It is important to clarify that Cesar took precautions, such as putting Simon on a long lead to assess his behavior, before making initial corrections and removing the leash. The pig that was nipped by Simon was tended to immediately afterward, healed quickly and showed no lasting signs of distress. As the additional clip reveals, Cesar and his animal pack effectively helped Simon to overcome his aggressive behavior toward other animals; as a result, Simon did not have to be separated from his owner or euthanized.”
Kind of sounds like Simon is the one being cruel to animals, no?
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