A Chicago man and a 13-year-old boy were arrested Thursday after allegedly torturing dogs and puppies -- and posting videos of the abuse on YouTube.
Joshua Moore, 22, was charged with four counts of animal torture and eight misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The 13-year-old captured in YouTube videos with Moore was also changed with four counts of animal torture and three counts of animal cruelty.
The videos reportedly featured Moore and the boy committing horrifying acts of animal torture. Chicago Police Officer John Mirabelli explained the content of the videos to the Sun-Times:
In one, a suspect allegedly suspended a dog from a harness and leash, and spun it violently in circles in mid-air until the animal’s eyes started to pulsate rapidly, Mirabelli said. Others allegedly showed the man and boy violently tossing dogs into the air and letting them drop.
In yet another video, the suspects hid a mother dog’s young puppies from her as a form of psychological torture, Mirabelli said. Police claim the suspects forced some dogs were to eat their own feces other videos, he said.
When members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) saw the videos, they contacted the authorities, the Chicago Tribune reports. The videos were also removed from YouTube.
According to the Tribune, Moore told police that "everything shown in the videos was for entertainment purposes and that he did not think he did anything wrong." The videos were reportedly made in January and February.
Police seized five dogs and five puppies-- terriers, chihuahuas or mixes of the two-- from the West Side home.
“We’re just super relieved these dogs are safe,” Daphna Nachminovitch, vice president of cruelty investigations at PETA, told the Tribune. “On some occasions you never find the person responsible and with this case. . .It was quite clear they’d be subjected to malicious torture by these people. They thought it was funny to torture these tiny little dogs."
The dogs have been placed with the city's Animal Care and Control agency.