Pet advocates decry video showing Marine tossing puppy off cliff

The Marines are investigating a video on YouTube that purports to show one of their men throwing a puppy from a cliff in Iraq.

The video has been viewed thousands of times and unleashed furious condemnation from viewers since it went live Monday, while others dismissed the act to varying degrees. Still undetermined is whether the animal was alive when the video was shot.

"The video is shocking and deplorable and is contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine," said a statement issued Monday by the Marine Corps base in Hawaii. "We have initiated an investigation. We do not tolerate this type of behavior and will take appropriate action."

In the 17-second video, two Marines in combat gear smile as one holds up a puppy by its neck. The dog appears motionless.

"Cute little puppy, huh?" says one smiling Marine.

The other Marine comments on how cute it is.

The first Marine then flings the animal over the cliff, and a series of high-pitched yelps are heard until it hits bottom.

"That's mean," one Marine then says, adding the name of the comrade who committed the act.

In Minnesota, Animal Humane Society investigator Keith Streff said today, "The first thing that screams at me ... is that for a professional to film a scenario under those circumstances is ludicrous to me, whether it's accurate or false."

Even if the abuse is staged, Streff said, "the military already loses" in terms of its reputation.

Internet sleuths built a consensus on who that Marine is: a 22-year-old lance corporal with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kane'ohe Bay in Hawaii and a native of Washington state.

The named Marine returned to Hawaii in October from Haqlaniyah, Iraq, after a seven-month deployment, Maj. Chris Perrine, a Marine spokesman, told the Honolulu Advertiser.

"We're still trying to figure out, is this a legitimate video?" Perrine told the newspaper. "Was it edited? Is it [that Marine] who's in it? We don't know. We'll find that out hopefully sooner rather than later."

Anger flowed from many who watched the video online.

"You're a disgrace whether the puppy was dead or not," wrote one viewer. "You're a disgusting person and I hope you're able to find your soul again someday."

Wrote another: "Pure Evil!!! This person has no soul!"

However, another put the action in a battlefield context: "You send these guys over there to defend the USA and kill human beings. Fine and dandy. But you're all a bunch of retards if you think war and killing doesn't mess with your head and train you to have no regard for life."

The Washington-based Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International (SPCA) said today that it is "horrified by the acts of cruelty displayed" in the video. "We ... hope the U.S. Marine Corps takes swift and strong action during the investigation."

On the flip said, the SPCA statement said, "We receive numerous calls and e-mails daily from military personnel desperate to rescue the animals they have befriended in the war zone."

To that end, the SPCA runs Baghdad Pups (www.baghdadpups.com), a program that rescues abandoned pets in the war zone.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482