A fitness influencer accused of abusing one of his dogs at his home in Glastonbury has been arrested after a video emerged on social media.
Michael Gerchy, 47, Lancaster, Virginia turned himself in at the Glastonbury Police Department on Friday where police held two active warrants for his arrest, including one charging him with cruelty to animals, according to Lt. Kevin Szydlo.
Szydlo said Gerchy’s arrest stemmed from a video that went viral on social media, which police learned about on March 12.
In the video, which appears to have been taken from the home’s surveillance system, Gerchy can be seen forcibly kicking the dog twice before picking it up and throwing it onto a piece of furniture. He then tried to kick the dog again as it tried to escape, the video shows.
Partially out of sight of the camera, Gerchy is then seen holding the animal while continuing to ask “What’s your (expletive) problem?” He then picks up the dog and throws it to the floor before going upstairs and the video ends.
In a subsequent video posted on his Instagram account, which Gerchy usually uses to post fitness videos, he claims that he was set up by his ex-girlfriend, saying that he edited the video to remove that one dog attacked another, almost biting his ex’s daughter. He also claimed that the dog, named Stitch, had a history of attacking another animal, named Thor, and causing serious injuries, resulting in thousands of dollars in vet bills.
Gerchy also posted a video showing what appeared to be two animals fighting before he intervened.
According to Szydlo, police worked “quickly” with prosecutors to obtain a warrant for Gerchy’s arrest the same day they learned about the video “showing the seriousness of the incident.” The warrant can be extradited from anywhere in the country.
“The Glastonbury Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the prosecutor and court staff for their prompt assistance and collaboration in this matter,” Szydlo said in a statement.
Police learned that Gerchy no longer lives in Connecticut and are coordinating with law enforcement and animal control officers in other states to locate him and check on the well-being of his two dogs, Szydlo said.
“The dog remains out of state and outside the jurisdiction of the Glastonbury Police Department,” Szydlo said Friday.
Gerchy, who is also accused of violating a protective order, is being held on $250,000 bond and is expected to be arraigned in Manchester Superior Court.
Volunteers from Desmond’s Army Animal Law Advocates are expected to attend the hearing.
“This arrest is a direct result of animal advocates finding the video, and the public sharing it and expressing their outrage,” Army President Desmond and co-founder Zilla Cannamela said in a statement posted on Facebook. “This case highlights the true power of animal advocacy and it once again shows the link between animal abuse and domestic violence.
According to court records, Gerchy has three other pending cases stemming from arrests in November and December 2025. In those cases, Glastonbury police have charged him with risk of injury to a minor, disorderly conduct, third-degree assault, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, improper storage of a pistol or revolver in a motor vehicle and violation of records of a protective order.
Attorneys representing Gerchy did not immediately return calls for comment.
According to Szydlo, the “worldwide” attention the video generated led to numerous phone calls and emails that overwhelmed dispatchers and police. Szydlo also cited false information being circulated online suggesting that the man in the video was a Glastonbury police officer.
“This information is not true,” Szydlo said. “No Glastonbury police officers were involved in this incident, and Gerchy is not, nor has ever been, a Glastonbury police officer.”
“The Glastonbury Police Department thanks the members of the public who shared information related to this incident,” Szydlo said. “We take crimes against animals seriously and are committed to investigating them thoroughly and quickly.”
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