Cesar Millan, a self-taught dog behaviorist and former host of the series “Dog Whisperer,” is being investigated for animal cruelty. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers visited Millan’s Santa Clarita animal training facility Thursday to investigate a report of animal cruelty, authorities confirmed.
The visit was in response to an online complaint tied to a Feb. 26 episode of Millan’s show “Cesar 911,” where a dog attacked and injured a pot-bellied pig. The series premiered on the Nat Geo WILD Channel in 2014.
“Cesar Millan has dedicated his life to helping dogs and to showing how even the most difficult “problem dog” can be rescued and rehabilitated,” said a spokesperson for Nat Geo WILD in a statement. “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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
