LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Ring doorbell video making the social media rounds captures a man kicking a cat in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood. The video has gone viral drawing the ire of pet owners and animal lovers.
13 Action News received multiple calls, Facebook messages, and emails from viewers who were concerned after they saw the shocking video online.
WARNING: The video may be disturbing to some viewers
What starts out as a normal approach towards a home in northwest Las Vegas takes a turn as the man kicks a cat off the front porch. The cat’s owner Aaron Aguilar was livid by what he saw and posted this Ring video. Aguilar declined our request for an interview but agreed to answer questions over the phone. He says this happened last month but posted it on social media this past Sunday. Annoula Wylderich, the founder of Animal Protection Affiliates saw the video and was in disbelief.
“We have an animal that’s minding its own business. There didn’t appear the need to defend himself so why kick an innocent animal?” she said.
Aguilar says he went ahead and posted the video feeling the company involved, Williams Pest Control didn’t take his concerns seriously despite their communication. He wanted to see the company make policy changes and the man be given anger management classes. Wylderich says seeing the cat being kicked is unfortunately nothing new in the valley.
“We see animal cruelty of all types every day depending on who you talk to and how extensively they are involved in the issue,” she said.
Royce Williams, the president of the company, was horrified to see the cat being kicked
“His actions should not in any way reflect the values or the standards of Williams Pest Control.”
He says the man who did it was an unpaid sales trainee, not an employee. Williams says he apparently went off on his own to try and solicit clients without his knowledge. When Williams learned of the cat being kicked, he terminated the relationship. Williams says he’s apologized to Aguilar and kept communicating with him up to a certain point.
“We’ve done every single thing he’s asked us to do except when asked for our employees and their names and information, we didn’t give it to him and we stopped that conversation,” he said.
Williams was saddened by the video’s public release saying in his 20 years serving the valley, he’s never gotten so many negative phone calls. He says he loves animals of all kinds and was glad to see the cat wasn’t seriously hurt. Williams wanted to make clear he condones no abuse.
“I want to make sure that is understood that there’s never, ever a time that abuse is accepted,” Williams said.
The owner says his cat is doing fine, despite the kick from the man.
