On Monday, popular YouTubers Nikki and Dan Phillippi shared some heartbreaking news: they made the decision to euthanize their 9-year-old bull terrier, Bowser. But Bowser was not sick, or in pain, or suffering from an incurable disease. No, the vloggers chose to end the life of their dog because he bit the couple's 1-year-old son, Logan, after the toddler tried to take some of the dog's food.
"I feel awkward, just like opening this video," Nikki says, clearing her throat while sitting next to her teary-eyed husband. "I don't even… there is no cheery way to open this video, so… we're here today to share with you what's been going on in our life." Nikki then proceeds to share that they put the dog "to sleep" on Friday, and that while the dog was "our dog" it was really her husband's dog, and that she hesitated to even share their decision due to the possible reaction of the couple's fans. "People aren't going to get it, people are going to be upset," Nikki said. "And Dan's response was, 'Nobody is going to be as upset as I am upset, or as upset as I am.'"
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Dan then jumped in to describe what happened. "For many many years, for most of his life, he was an extremely dangerous animal outside the walls of my house," he said. "He was definitely an outside animal that I had to keep inside." The couple claims that Bowser was attacked as a puppy and, as a result, became aggressive. "We could have put Bowser down a really, really long time ago, and several times, and have just been putting the day off," Dan said in the video. "He has seriously injured a couple different dogs."
But the breaking point for the couple was when the dog bit their son. The couple shared that their son had previously hurt the dog's ear, and after another incident, the dog bit the child in the face. Dan admitted that "it wasn't bad" and that their son was healing with "a little mark on his face" — the couple even said that the "incident" was a moment when the child stole food from the dog and the dog reacted defensively — but the damage was done.
Both Nikki and Dan also claimed that the Humane Society told them they could not re-home the dog and that euthanasia was the only option. They then decided to use a euthanasia service to have the dog put down at home, but not before the couple did a "goodbye photoshoot" with the dog. And yes, the dog posed next to the couple’s 1-year-old son. Nikki shared the photos on her Instagram, which has since gone private.
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Reaction to the couple's decision was swift and unmerciful. "Add this to spreading deadly misinformation, alt-right conspiracies, being anti-mask, anti-vaxx, anti-abortion, anti-BLM, (let's just say it, racist) bigot," Meghan Rienks, another popular YouTuber, tweeted. "How sick do you have to be to take a photoshoot with your 'dangerously aggressive' dog knowing you're about to end his life? Your dog is so aggressive but had no issues putting the baby next to it for a cure [sic] lil pre-murder photoshoot?" another popular YouTuber by the name of Tea Spill tweeted.
If the couple shared the family news in hopes of garnering sympathy, they definitely miscalculated the reaction of their audience.
FYI all dogs deserve the chance to be rehabbed for behavior issues...Rehomed or dropped at a rescue or trainer who helps dogs w bite or behavioral issues for fucks sake. Never put down bc UR embarrassed about being a bad dog owner.
— Kelsey Darragh (@kelseydarragh) May 6, 2021
How sick do you have to be to take a ✨photoshoot✨ with your “dangerously aggressive” dog knowing you’re about to end his life? Your dog is so aggressive but had no issues putting the baby next to it for a cure lil pre-murder photoshoot? pic.twitter.com/2jX9FfJywZ
— ᵗᵉᵃSpill (@TeaSpillYT) May 6, 2021
I have a very temperamental dog. He bites people when he feels nervous, unsafe or if you try to touch him when he doesn’t want to be... I know these things because im his OWNER. Therefore I make sure he’s not in situations where he will react... I don’t kill him!
— Jaclyn Hill (@Jaclynhill) May 6, 2021
Of course, they're not the first Vloggers to share some personal information to the shock and horror of many. YouTubers Myka and James Stauffer infamously shared their decision to essentially "re-home" their adopted child, Huxley.
The moral of the story? For someone so *on* the internet, it should have been easy to assume that if you kill your dog, people are going to have feelings about it. In other words (and perhaps in a way this Very Online Couple can understand) like the Netflix documentary Don't F*ck With Cats made very clear: Don't F*ck With Pets.