A viral video appeared to show a woman punching her dog while wearing boxing gloves, and now Idaho officials are investigating

• A prosecutor in Idaho is investigating a viral video that appeared to show a Boise-area woman punching her dog while wearing boxing gloves.
• The Idaho Humane Society (IHS) discovered the Snapchat video when it was widely shared on Twitter on May 3. "The investigation is currently pending review at the local prosecutor's office for a charging decision," a spokesperson for IHS said in a press release.
• IHS said that an animal control officer had been in touch with the woman from the video, though she is not yet being identified publicly.
• Warning: This article contains video footage that may be upsetting to some readers.
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A video that appears to show an Idaho woman repeatedly punching her dog, while wearing boxing gloves, went viral on social media as many voiced concerns for the animal. The Idaho Humane Society (IHS) caught wind of the video, leading to an investigation from the local prosecutor's office.

The woman, who lives in Eagle, Idaho, according to the IHS, is seen hitting her dog with the boxing gloves in the 13-second clip. The dog — a German Shephard, according to The Daily Dot — jumps towards her and barks upon receiving the hits. "I hit him so hard, I felt that one," the woman can be heard saying at the end of the video.

The video, originally posted to Snapchat, circulated on Twitter early in the morning on Monday after Charlie Chaloupsky asked his followers to help identify the woman. "Retweet this until we find out who she is," he said in the tweet. The video has more than 100,000 views as of Thursday morning.

—Brown Shuga (@brownnshugaaa) May 4, 2020

The IHS said in a press release on Monday, May 4, that the local prosecutor's office had taken up the case and was looking into pressing charges. "The investigation is currently pending review at the local prosecutor's office for a charging decision," spokesperson Kristine Schellhaas said, adding that an animal control officer had "made contact with the woman, who has not been publicly identified."

The Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation shared the video on its Facebook page on Monday and identified the woman by name. It was not clear at press time how the foundation identified the woman, and the organization did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

The IHS and the office of the Boise City prosecutor — which Ada County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bandy told Insider is handling the case — did not immediately return Insider's requests for comment.

Easy video creation and distribution on the internet have highlighted the problem of animal abuse online for years, but new social media challenges encouraging people to show "pet fails" have incurred further scrutiny as they appear to cause harm to pets. Many influencers on YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms have also faced backlash for apparent animal abuse.

• Read more:
• People are going viral with 'pet fail' videos, but vets say the stunts could cause long-term damage to an animal's health
• A YouTuber with over 3 million followers responded to backlash after eating live squids and octopuses on her channel, which critics call 'cruel'
• Twitch suspended a controversial streamer after she accidentally showed her nipple during a broadcast
• The YouTuber who hit her dog in a video and then accidentally posted the footage reportedly won't face animal-cruelty charges

Read the original article on Insider