Cesar Millan, the animal psychologist famously known as the "Dog
Whisperer," is under investigation for an animal cruelty complaint
authorities received after a recent episode of his TV show, "Cesar 911,"
on National Geographic, authorities confirmed to Patch.
In the
show, Millan was rehabilitating an aggressive french bulldog named
Simon, which had recently attacked some pet pigs, at his "Dog Psychology
Center." When Millan brought new pigs to a "training session" with
Simon, the dog attacked one of the pigs, biting its ear and drawing
blood.
A Change.org petition claims that
Simon was a "known pig killer" and had more than 9,000 signatures Friday morning.
Investigators
visited Millan's center in Santa Clarita, California, on Thursday
evening, but Millan was not there, so they spoke with his son instead,
according to Aaron Reyes, deputy director of the County of Los Angeles
Department of Animal Care and Control.
The department posted a
24-hour notice for Millan to contact authorities, and a couple hours
later an investigator heard from a "key staff member" of Millan's show,
Reyes told Patch. The staff member said Millan was aware of the
investigation and will fully cooperate with it, Reyes said.
Investigators
want to know how badly pig was harmed, why Millan chose that method of
rehabilitation and anything different he could have done, Reyes said,
adding that at this point, all they've seen is the video.
"You’re looking at the key piece of evidence we’re looking at," Reyes said.
National
Geographic did not immediately return requests from Patch for comment
but in a statement to multiple media outlets, National Geographic said
the clip only showed Simon, "chasing a pig and nipping its ear, causing
the ear to bleed."
The statement continued: "It is important to
clarify that Cesar took precautions, such as putting Simon on a long
leash 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."
Following the controversy surrounding the dog-bites-pig incident,
National Geographic released an
extended clip to media, showing the
troubled dog coming full circle.
In the clip, Simon is brought
back into a pen with more pigs, and Millan works his magic on the dog.
Eventually, Millan ties a leash from one of the pigs to Simon, and has
the pig take Simon for "a walk" around the pen.
The two animals appear to be thick as thieves by the time it's all said and done.
"As
the additional clip reveals, Cesar and his animal pack effectively
helped Simon to overcome his aggressive behavior toward other animals,"
the National Geographic statement said. "As a result, Simon did not have
to be separated from his owner or euthanized."
***
no comments to this story, but some on the Psychology Today
article.
and more mainstream comments
here.
Jill Breitner the originator of the petition has a
youtube channel and has an app called Dog Decoder. She currently has 101 subscribers. Maybe it'll jump up after this.
***
Pro-Cesar
comments on facebook
A
statement from
Simon's owner
Cesar
speaks with
people.com about the incident.
The episode is
online (and on the Nat Geo app), but only available to cable subscribers to Nat Geo Wild. Non-subscribers can purchase Cesar 911 episodes on
Amazon.com,
iTunes,
vudu,
MGo.
Season 3 episodes will supposedly be made available on Hulu
30 days after the original air date. Season 2 episodes are currently available on Hulu. Season 1 episodes are available on Netflx.
*** [4/11/16]
We have been
informed by Los Angeles County Animal Control that their investigation into the farm pig incident is over and they have found that we did nothing wrong and
no charges will be brought against
me or my team. I am pleased but not surprised by this news. My team and I are 100% dedicated to the proper care of all animals and our animal handling procedures are safe and humane. We will continue to rescue and rehabilitate even the most difficult problem dogs. Our work has saved the lives of thousands of animals that otherwise would have been euthanized.
