Jonathan Van Ness has candidly spoken out about a “devastating” family incident, revealing that they were forced to rehome their dog after he attacked their cat and left her in the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Van Ness, 39, who is nonbinary and uses he, she, and they pronouns, shared the emotional update on their Instagram account, where the “Queer Eye” star explained that their dog, George, had been removed from their home in New York City after getting into a confrontation with their cat, Liza.
Liza’s jaw was broken in the altercation and the feline had to undergo emergency surgery.
“This is not a fun pet and family update,” Van Ness—who lives between Austin, TX, and New York—began the video, having shared an image that showed them posing with the cat in a carrier outside the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in Manhattan.
“That is our cat Liza,” the beauty expert continued. “Three weeks ago, I think it was June 2, our beloved dog, George, had a situation with Liza, where they were trying to cross each other on the stairs. Liza was pissed and she gave him a little swat but George freaked out and went for her.”
In their caption, Van Ness, who lives with their husband, Mark Peacock, described the incident as one of the most “devastating” events they have have ever had to face.
“This has been such a devastating event and I’m sharing to say for every animal family, it’s not easy, but I’m so glad we can show up for these creatures and each other,” they wrote.
Recalling the moment that the incident occurred, Van Ness explained that George had not bitten Liza, but rather broken her jaw with sheer force—revealing that they knew instantly the cat’s jaw was broken as soon as they saw her.
“[George] wasn’t like biting her, but roughhousing [and] going for her and ended up breaking her jaw,” the reality star shared. “I got George off of her, I couldn’t tell what the immediate damage was until I got to Liza and saw what I knew was a broken jaw.
Van Ness said they began “screaming, crying, and howling,” for their spouse to help rush the feline to an emergency hospital.
The television personality said they realized almost immediately that, if Liza survived, George could no longer remain in the household.
“I knew instantly that if she made it, we weren’t gonna be able to keep George and thank God for the people at the animal hospital, they performed a literal miracle on her. I didn’t think she was gonna make it, and I thought I was gonna cancel my shows,” Van Ness said.
Still, they said that didn’t make the decision to rehome George any less “gut-wrenching,” particularly given that the incident had occurred seemingly “out of the blue.”
However, Van Ness said that they realized George would be better suited to a home without other pets, noting that the pup has since been placed in a new foster environment where he can receive one-on-one attention.
“[George has] been with us for four years, all the animals got along so well for the most part and this just came completely out of the blue. It’s been so gut-wrenching,” Van Ness said.
“Our theory on George is that he is not a three dogs, five cats sort of dog and he just needs to be the only dog in the house.”
Still, Van Ness’ emotional post sparked debate online, with some social media users questioning whether rehoming the dog was necessary after years without serious incidents.
One social media user said, “Why not rehome the cat who was the agitator? If the dog doesn’t have a pattern of aggression?”
Someone else wrote: “If not biting attacking and had been absolutely fine for 4 years … I don’t understand the sudden rehoming/only a one dog home.”
Others defended the decision, arguing that the severity of the attack made protecting the family’s remaining pets the top priority.
“As a vet tech, I think you made the best decision for everyone involved. While I understand the people on the dog’s side, it was a choice that needed to be made and it would be cruel to punish the cat, when they are the one suffering for the dog’s actions,” one person said.
Another social media user added, “This is so heartbreaking and of course such a tough situation to be in. Ignore the people saying you shouldn’t have rehomed the dog, some dog people are genuinely crazy. Liza almost died and that’s such a serious angry thing. It sounds like you’ve done the most rational, if not difficult thing. A lot of people wouldn’t do that.”
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