Windy Sydney

This has been on the news all day, and I am sick about it. Here is the news article, you can click on the photo to go directly to the news page.

HONOLULU -- The Marines on Monday responded to a video clip on YouTube.com showing what appears to be a Kaneohe-based Marine throwing a puppy while in Iraq.

The video shows two Marines talking as one holds a puppy by the back of the neck before throwing the dog over what appears to be a cliff. There is the sound of a dog yelping as the puppy is seen flying in the air.

The clip has been viewed by thousands of people on the Internet, with several e-mailing Honolulu TV news media.

The leadership at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe said they are investigating the case and that they do not tolerate such behavior.

"This is a shocking and deplorable video that contrary to the high standards we set for every Marine. We will investigate this and take appropriate action," Maj. Christopher Perrine said.

Officials said they believe the Marine in the video is a lance corporal who returned to Hawaii in October from Iraq.

Thousands of people viewed the clip that lasted about 17 seconds. Many left messages on YouTube.com saying they were outraged by what they saw.

"The act itself is atrocious and just to see the disregard for life is just troubling," Hawaii Humane Society spokeswoman Kawehi Yim said.

Others said they believed the clip was staged and not real.

The Marines said while they will look into what happened. They want to determine whether the video clip is authentic.

"We need to find out who is this person, is this a legitimate video? Was it edited?" Perrine said.

YouTube.com pulled the clips uploaded onto its site involving the Marine and the puppy by the late afternoon.

Officials at the Hawaii Humane Society said they were horrified by what was on the video.

"People have been e-mailing and calling outraged that one, that the act occurred and secondly that there appears to be little remorse," Yim said.

If the video is authentic, the Marines involved could face judicial charges, a reduction in rank and pay and a court-martial. They could also be discharged.

I won't be the first person to share my outrage with their internet viewers, but I can't help but do it.

How in the world would these men do this? These are men that are supposed to represent our country, and they failed us. I pray to God this video is fake. If the video is fake, I still don't understand why the Marines involved didn't stop to think it might be a bad idea. It doesn't make the thought any less disturbing, and it certainly doesn't make me trust them.

I grew up on an Army base. I am used to the sound of helicopters and fighter jets overhead, the sound of men and women running down the street at 6 am, and I know what it is like when a community loses someone they know well in combat. We trust these men and women with our lives and our safety. Why can't we trust these Marines with a puppy? The men and women soldiers I met while growing up were amazing people. They were brave and treated everyone with respect. I don't believe the men involved in this video could even comprehend the harm it does to a young person watching that video.

I grew up idolizing the military members. They represented something that I was proud to be around. Kids in my town couldn't wait to join the Army or other armed forces. They wanted to be a part of it. They loved it.

What happens to the little kids that hear about this? Do they lose their respect for the individual Marines in the video, do they lose their respect for the Marines in general, the armed forces in general... or do they lose respect for the animals they see being treated so horribly by the men they idolize?

I love animals. I always have. I cried when I got to swim with dolphins, I played with my neighbors dog more than she did! Hell... I even bought cat treats for the stray cats in my neighborhood in Orlando! They are beautiful loving creatures, and they deserve to be treated with respect and love.



Many of you know that I have three cats in my apartment. They are not pets, they are members of my family. 2 of these cats were rescued for horrible situations.

Abbey Road was found on Halloween night 2007 as a kitten. She was soaking wet, and beaten almost to death. Luckily a group of kids heard her meowing from under a parked truck and helped her get to the humane society. No one knows who hurt her, they are still out there... and I pray for other animals that might run into this individual. Abbey still drinks slowly because of the injury to her jaw. We show her so much love to make up for the horrible person that hurt her.


Spooky Bear was found in a home of a hoarder. The older woman had over 78 cats, and at least 6 dogs. She couldn't afford to buy them enough food, and when we took Spooky home from the humane society, she was still looking around for her mom to nurse. She even tried to nurse off of Abbey a few times. We bought her special kitten milk, and she is very healthy now. She is still very scared of humans she doesn't know... that is why we named her Spooky. It suits her, and she is a wonderful cat. My life is better with them.

I would like to take the time to ask each and every person reading this to remember that animals do have souls. They have feelings. They have pain. There are many animal organizations out there who rescue these animals and find them good homes. If you can't give an animal a good home, think about donations. Every little penny counts.

I will get off my soap box now...

-Sydney