YouTuber Straps Pet Dog To Helium Balloons To Make It 'Fly,' Arrested

A YouTuber who tied his pet dog to a bundle of helium balloons to make it "fly" has been arrested after the video drew flak from animal cruelty.

Gaurav Sharma, an Indian YouTuber with over 4.15 million subscribers, has been charged with cruelty to the animal for risking his pet dog Dollar's life, reported Hindustan Times.

Sharma, 32, posted the video on his YouTube channel 'Gauravzone' on May 21 and removed it soon after.

The video, titled 'Flying Dollar with helium gas balloon,' showed Sharma shopping for balloons. "Please don't take it wrong. When we will fly Dollar, we will take all safety precautions," Gaurav was heard saying in the video.

He was then shown entering a shop and asking the shopkeeper the number of balloons required to keep the dog high up in the air. Sharma then straps Dollar to the bundle of balloons, following which it "flies" for a brief moment.

The video also featured a woman, who cheers on Sharma as he carries on with the cruel deed.

The video received criticism immediately after it was uploaded online. Sharma then removed the clip and uploaded another video, in which he claims he took all safety measures while "flying" the dog. He apologized for his actions, adding that he opted not to include the safety precautions in the first video as it would be too lengthy.

"I am a pet lover. I got influenced by some videos from outside. I apologize for that and I appeal to all to not get influence by my video," he added, showing some old footage of him playing with his dog.

Meanwhile, senior police official Atul Kumar Thakur told The Indian Express they received a complaint from People for Animal against Sharma.

"We registered an FIR under sections of Disaster Management Act and Prevention to Cruelty to Animal Act. The accused has been arrested. He told us he is a YouTuber and made the video for his channel," Thakur told the publication.

Recently, a police officer in North Carolina was "administratively separated" from his K-9 after a disturbing video emerged showing the officer slamming the dog against a squad car and hanging it by its leash. The dog named Zuul was seen exiting the squad car before getting yelled at by the officer. Zuul then stops and is placed back on a leash. However, the officer uses the leash to pick up the K-9 and hang him over his shoulder as he walks back to the vehicle.