Man caught on video tossing puppy across border fence, beating it

By Debbi Baker
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

1:25 p.m. July 7, 2008



San Diego County Department of Animal Services
This shepherd mix puppy, whose brutal beating last week was captured by Border Patrol surveillance cameras, is recuperating well at a county Department of Animal Services shelter in Bonita after being rescued by an agent.

SAN DIEGO – A puppy that was savagely beaten and left for dead by a man at the U.S.-Mexico border last week is recovering after being rescued by Border Patrol agents.
The brutal attack on the female shepherd mix puppy, estimated to be about 3 months old, was captured by Border Patrol surveillance cameras and shows the man hitting, choking and suffocating the animal before fleeing back to Mexico, said Border Patrol Agent Mark Endicott.

The video shows the man first tossing the puppy into the U.S. from Mexico over the fence about a half mile east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He then jumps over the barrier and grabs the dog and begins to punch it in the head several times with a closed fist. He then picks up the struggling, tiny animal and slams it against the fence.

A Border Patrol agent was dispatched to check on the dog after the man left its lifeless body lying on the ground and jumped back over the fence. The agent found the dog was still alive and gave it some food and water, Endicott said.

It was then taken to the county Department of Animal Services shelter in Bonita, Endicott said.

The puppy, which has not been named, has some trauma to its back legs but is expected to recover, said John Carlson, deputy director with the county's Animal Services. He said X-rays will determine to what extent the legs are damaged. It did not appear to have suffered significant internal injuries but will undergo further tests.
Carlson said he has seen animals that have been injured by people but has never seen the abuse in progress as it was captured on the tape.

“I was astonished, I was disgusted, some of the stuff I was thinking you cannot print,â€