Family: Worker seen on camera beating dogs with pipe wrench
KINGWOOD, Texas --A Texas family says a contract worker beat their dogs with a pipe wrench last month,reports CBS affiliate KHOU.
A clip of the incident was posted on Facebook Sunday and has since gone viral -- racking over 1 million views and over 18,000 shares, as of Tuesday afternoon.
[WARNING: The video below may be disturbing for some viewers.]
On March 23, a man claiming to be from CenterPoint Energy showed up unannounced, according to homeowner Mike Willcox. His home surveillance video apparently showing the man hitting his dog Flash with a pipe wrench.
He adds the incident happened as his wife and two young children watched from their living room -- several feet away.
"My 4 year old son was very upset about it," said Marina Willcox. "He started crying. He was scared."
She says she went to check on Flash, realized he was bleeding, and rushed to tell her husband.
Willcox told the station he went outside just in time to see the unidentified man take another swing -- this time at his other dog, Shutter. Willcox told the man to get of their property, according to KHOU.
The family then filed a complaint, reports the station. On Sunday afternoon, a CenterPoint Energy spokesperson responded, saying that they have notified the contract company and that company will be conducting "a full investigation into the incident."
In addition to both dogs being injured, the family reportedly has at least $2,000 in vet bills, including a scheduled surgery for one of them on Friday.
Willcox says he has given a copy of the footage to the Houston Police Department, who he says will also be looking into the incident.