A Texas family is demanding answers after a contractor for a natural gas company entered their backyard and struck their two dogs with a pipe wrench.
Now the company who employed the contractor is conducting a full investigation after one of the dogs struck with a wrench died as a result of his injuries on Thursday.
The March 23 incident was captured on a home CCTV camera and posted to Facebook, and shows a worker believed to be contracted by CenterPoint Energy enter Mike Willcox’s backyard in Kingwood, Texas.
The family’s pair of Weimaraner bird dogs, Flash and Shutter, are seen approaching the worker, who then strikes the canines multiple times with a wrench.
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Willcox confronted the contractor after hearing what happened from his wife and son, who witnessed the horrifying incident from inside their home.
“I’m like, ‘Why didn’t you come knock on the door? We were home.’ He’s like, ‘I don’t have to do that,'” Willcox told ABC 13 in Houston.
According to CenterPoint Energy, the contractor was at the Willcox’s home to disconnect service, and workers are not obligated to contact homeowners in those situations.
“It absolutely would have made the best sense to knock on the door but our process today for disconnection for non-payment, it is to go straight to the meter,” CenterPoint spokesperson Leticia Lowe told ABC 13.
Lowe did acknowledge the video was disturbing.
“We’re extremely disappointed about this behaviour and how it unfolded.”
CenterPoint called Willcox after the initial incident and offered to help cover his veterinary costs. One of the dogs, Flash, was diagnosed with a concussion, an eye injury, and one even had a tooth knocked out, which can be seen in the video landing in the pool.
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The second dog, Shutter, suffered a severe head injury from the wrench blow and died as a result of severe brain trauma Thursday.
CenerPoint Energy released a statement this weekend following the death of Shutter saying they intend to conduct a full investigation.
“We have determined that a CenterPoint Energy contractor was at this address on this date,” the statement reads. “CenterPoint Energy does not condone or tolerate abuse of animals by our employees or our contractors. We have notified the contract company and they have assured us that they will conduct a full investigation into the incident.”
The family hopes that by posting the video to Facebook it will pressure CenterPoint to change its policy on how it deals with pets.
“I would love to see some policy changed and get to the bottom of this,” Willcox said.