Ban animal abuser Michael Gerchy from owning pets
The Issue
Michael Gerchy has been charged with animal abuse for maliciously beating his one-eyed Staffordshire terrier Stitch. Gerchy can be seen in a recording repeatedly kicking Stitch in the head and body and throwing and choking him. While abusing Stitch Gerchy can be heard repeatedly saying “Do you wanna die? Do you wanna die?” The whole time Stitch is quiet and not even attempting to fight back. It’s clear this has happened before. A witness reported that Stitch suffered from internal injuries for a week after the beating.
This video has gone viral and has caught worldwide attention.
A second video was released of Gerchy smacking his then 6 month old Cane Corso Thor in the face and body with a slipper.
Michael Gerchy was charged with animal abuse in March of 2026 and was court ordered to give up custody of his dogs and to never own a pet again. The dogs were placed with a friend of Mike Gerchy’s.
Shortly after Gerchy was released from jail he was caught with Stitch and Thor in his car in Virginia which is a direct violation of court orders. His bond was raised by $200 400 for violating court orders and he was in jail again. Stitch and Thor were placed in a shelter.
After a week in jail Gerchy was bonded out of jail a second time.
On June 6th 2026 Mike Gerchy was ordered to sign his rights away to Stitch and Thor. By then the dogs had been at the shelter for months and their time was running out. They were rescued and both dogs are currently in foster homes. Thor will be adopted and Stitch is a forever foster.
The DA and Virginia Animal Control failed Stitch and Thor. There is an audio recording of Gerchy bragging about being allowed to keep the dogs by Animal Control, VA after he had been arrested for animal abuse and bonded out the first time. In September 2026 Mike Gerchy posted to his Instagram @getafteritfitness a video of himself driving a vehicle in which you can see a black dog in the backseat. The Glastonbury police and Virginia police were notified and neither of them took any action to uphold court orders.
Mike Gerchys lawyer walked out on him in June 2026 and since then Gerchy has shown up to every court appearances without legal representation. He lied in court on record stating he had hired Norm Pattis, but he has yet to make an appearance and court records show that Gerchy is representing himself.
This petition will be forwarded to the judge when this goes to trial. This is still in the pretrial stage. Signing it is your way of telling the court that we are watching and we are going to ensure that Mike Gerchy never owns a pet again.
2,845
The Issue
Michael Gerchy has been charged with animal abuse for maliciously beating his one-eyed Staffordshire terrier Stitch. Gerchy can be seen in a recording repeatedly kicking Stitch in the head and body and throwing and choking him. While abusing Stitch Gerchy can be heard repeatedly saying “Do you wanna die? Do you wanna die?” The whole time Stitch is quiet and not even attempting to fight back. It’s clear this has happened before. A witness reported that Stitch suffered from internal injuries for a week after the beating.
This video has gone viral and has caught worldwide attention.
A second video was released of Gerchy smacking his then 6 month old Cane Corso Thor in the face and body with a slipper.
Michael Gerchy was charged with animal abuse in March of 2026 and was court ordered to give up custody of his dogs and to never own a pet again. The dogs were placed with a friend of Mike Gerchy’s.
Shortly after Gerchy was released from jail he was caught with Stitch and Thor in his car in Virginia which is a direct violation of court orders. His bond was raised by $200 400 for violating court orders and he was in jail again. Stitch and Thor were placed in a shelter.
After a week in jail Gerchy was bonded out of jail a second time.
On June 6th 2026 Mike Gerchy was ordered to sign his rights away to Stitch and Thor. By then the dogs had been at the shelter for months and their time was running out. They were rescued and both dogs are currently in foster homes. Thor will be adopted and Stitch is a forever foster.
The DA and Virginia Animal Control failed Stitch and Thor. There is an audio recording of Gerchy bragging about being allowed to keep the dogs by Animal Control, VA after he had been arrested for animal abuse and bonded out the first time. In September 2026 Mike Gerchy posted to his Instagram @getafteritfitness a video of himself driving a vehicle in which you can see a black dog in the backseat. The Glastonbury police and Virginia police were notified and neither of them took any action to uphold court orders.
Mike Gerchys lawyer walked out on him in June 2026 and since then Gerchy has shown up to every court appearances without legal representation. He lied in court on record stating he had hired Norm Pattis, but he has yet to make an appearance and court records show that Gerchy is representing himself.
This petition will be forwarded to the judge when this goes to trial. This is still in the pretrial stage. Signing it is your way of telling the court that we are watching and we are going to ensure that Mike Gerchy never owns a pet again.
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Petition created on April 3, 2026