YouTuber Nikki Phillippi Criticized After Revealing She Had Family Dog Put Down for Being Aggressive

Lifestyle influencer and YouTuber Nikki Phillippi is facing backlash after she revealed that she euthanized her family dog.

Phillippi announced in an Instagram post Monday that she had made the decision to put down her dog, Bowser, after he bit her young son Logan.

"Bowser had an aggressive side that reared its ugly head a few times over the years," she captioned the series of photos of the family with the dog. "After a lot of counsel, we decided it was time for Bowser to pass peacefully on."

The family and lifestyler influencer — who has over 1.29 million YouTube subscribers —continued, "We didn't want to make this decision...as I'm sure you can imagine. I'm not kidding when I say this was one of the saddest days of my life."

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"We will miss you forever Bowser," Phillippi concluded the post.

The post received backlash from people who said that Phillippi should have tried to rehome the dog or put him through more training before choosing euthanasia.

In a YouTube video, Phillippi and her husband Dan elaborated on the decision, saying that Bowser was attacked as a puppy, which contributed to his aggressive personality. The couple reiterated that the dog had been involved in several incidents over the past few years where he injured other dogs.

In the most recent incident with their son, Phillippi explained that Logan had taken food from Bowser, which prompted the dog to bite him in the face. The couple said the injury "wasn't bad" but that Logan still has "a little mark" from the bite.

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"In some ways it's been anticipated for a really long time, and in others, it was completely shocking," Phillippi said. "Never crossed my mind — 'Oh, now we're gonna have to put Bowser down' — I just thought, 'Oh, he's just gotta be in the right home.' But after getting counsel from multiple professionals who are with dogs all the time, all of them said that, they all said the same thing."

Phillippi concluded the video by reading "a list of things that I'll never forget about Bowser" while showing a montage of photos of the dog.

The influencer became emotional as she read the list, which included "the way he smelled," "the soft spot on his nose," and "the thick fur on the back of his neck."

Phillippi did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.