Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Marine Throws Puppy Off Cliff

You would think that the U.S. military could use some good PR just about now. But no. A video has surfaced showing a Marine Lance Corporal throwing a puppy off a cliff, while the camera person (it's believed) comments on the meanness of it.

Just a fake video? No. The Marines know the officer in question and are not releasing his name pending further investigation. The video had been running on YouTube, but is now down. If you do a search on the site for "marine puppy," several videos will show. However, when you click on the video to play, this is what shows on a banner at the top of the page: This video has been removed due to terms of use violation. You can still see the video of the smiling soldier (with other smiling soldiers) at the web site Dumpen Maar. You can also sign a petition titled Stand Against Puppy-Killing Soldiers at the Care2 petition site.

Ugly and mean. You think that these people are here to protect us, but such cavalier attitudes toward life make you question the focus of their missions or, at the least, their competency in enforcing it.

Addendum (thanks to my spouse): This particular marine is a punk, not a warrior. A true warrior uses his skills and knowledge when appropriate; a true soldier is not gratuitously violent. Unfortunately, this guy chooses to misrepresent the mission of military colleagues.

Addendum 2: Some of the video viewers are suggesting that perhaps the puppy was dead, since it was limp, and that it's yelp was dubbed in. detroit dog thinks not. The puppy was indeed limp, as young pups do when picked up by the scruff of the neck. But the puppy still had a lot of muscle tone there. Have you ever seen a dead rabbit or other dead animal in an upright position? All of their legs hang as straight down as is possible given their angled joints. This pup's legs and paws were still held up. Also, the video quality appears to be that of either a small camera or a cell phone camera. I can't imagine that someone would go through all the trouble of inserting a yelp sound for an otherwise worthless video.

Thanks to my friend KE at Lusting WanderLuster for bringing this issue to my attention. You can read the news story Video appears to show Marine abusing puppy at CNN.

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for keeping us posted, V. I think he should get two punishments: one, a dishonorable discharge. This will ensure that he can never own a gun or run for public office (I think that's correct). Two, someone should throw HIM off a cliff. Now THAT would be justice.

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  2. How anyone can say this is a fake video is so nieve. You can see the Marine is proud of what he is doing. All I know is that this is a dispicable act and he should pay dearly for this. But as we all know the military will probably try to play it down and let it blow over. Sad, sad day for the United States.

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  3. I understand that this one man is part of many thousands of soldiers. However, his one action, I hope, will affect those same thousands to realize their actions matter at all times! I support the soldiers and their work they are doing to keep us from harm, but a small innocent puppy did not deserve that from an American Soldier! If the Marine's don't Court Marshall this Lance Corporal, then the shame will lay on the whole and not the individual!

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  4. This is a sick, disgusting and in-humane act of cruelty. I can not even bring myself to watch this video and I certainly hope the media does not decide to show the video. This marine should be punished to the full extent of the law and made an example of. I DON'T WANT THIS MARINE FIGHTING FOR MY COUNTRY!

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  5. Those guys are Marines, not Soldiers.

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  6. I have seen this video several times and the puppy looks real and alive to me. Contrary to popular belief in various blogs, puppies do not kick and wiggle when picked up by the scruff/nape of the neck. Obviously many people have never picked up a pup this way or witnessed a mother carry a puppy. I was a dog breeder for a long time, puppies go limp and they get quiet, the puppy, in my opinion was real.

    The Marines can say they are investigating the authenticity of the video but at this point I do not care. I saw the video enough times to tell me what I needed to know. They cover for their own anyway and if this poor example of humanity thought perpetrating this type of crime on an animal was amusing, this is aberrant behavior. If this guy will do this to a puppy it begs one to wonder what he would do to a baby or a young girl. And just think this thing will be living among us and reproducing, I pity his children.

    To those of you trying to view this video watch carefully where you go – trojans run amok.

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  7. I am outraged by this video. How did this asshole even get into the corp? I think the military does need to make an example of him and i won't be happy until they kick him out of the military, identify him to the public so everyone knows who he is then put his sorry ass in jail forever!

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  8. Some early details have come out about the investigation.

    - The puppy was completely limp when picked up which may indicate that dog was already dead. This doesn't mean the dog was actually dead already because puppies sometime go totally limp when picked up.
    -The sounds of the puppy when falling doesn't fade as the dog moves away from the camera.

    So it looks like he threw a dead puppy over the cliff and dubbed in yelps. Not matter what, this was suck.

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  9. There are a lot of sicko's out there. I do hope someday a dog comes back to bite him in his a**.

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  10. i am, as an activist for animal rights, horrified by this marine's actions. but i am equally horrified by the outrage shown by people over the brutal killing of a single puppy when every day our troops and hired mercenaries are subjecting the iraqi people to the same - or worse - treatment. to date, well over one million iraqis have died violently as a result of this invasion and occupation, and millions more have had their lives destroyed. i won't even get into the ongoing torture which goes unreported in the msm. where's the outage over all of that?

    likewise, youtube has chosen to remove the video, but it is still possible to watch videos of blackwater mercenaries randomly shooting innocent civilians while driving down the road listening to country music (i won't provide the disgusting link to this.)

    what's wrong with us that it take the murder of an innocent puppy to become outraged at the violence, cruelty and savagery that we, and those in uniform who represent us, are inflicting on innocent people around the world?

    i know there are good, decent and honorable men and women serving whom we can be proud of, but there must be something rotten at the core that so many others turn to this kind of cruelty again and again.

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  11. What has me questioning whether or not the pup was already dead (without rigor mortis) is the way it sails through the air when he throws it. Puppies, like kittens, will instinctually attempt to right themselves when falling - which will appear as a twisting of the spine in a corkscrew like fashion. This pup sails through the air like a stuffed toy (but then bounces like a real dog). I agree however that the posture of the pup is typical of a pup being "scruffed," unlike a dead puppy which will hang completely limp (I've worked in veterinary hospitals for over 20 years).Some say it doesn't matter whether or not the puppy was dead beforehand - but it matters to me. I don't want to think that a human being - given a rare opportunity to show compassion and warmth in that war-torn hell hole - would instead grin like a sadistic idiot while tossing an innocent vulnerable creature to its death like so much trash.The rage that has erupted over this event gives me hope that we as humans still have the grace to care about and to come to the aid of those who are defenseless amongst us.

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