Man, teen charged with puppy torture

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WAYNE) - Earlier this week, Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control officers started getting complaints about YouTube videos showing puppies being tortured.

In five separate videos a man and a teen were shown swinging small dogs and puppies on their leashes in tight circles. They called the act “helicoptering” and bragged that “you couldn’t tell it was a dog” because it was moving so fast.

In another video, the man and the teen also poured lemon juice down a dog’s throat until it started gagging and force-feeding the dogs their own feces. They were shown pouring rubbing alcohol on a male dog’s testicles and then using duct tape to rip the hair off.

The pair also tormented one female dog that recently gave birth by hiding the puppies around the house and watching the mother frantically search for her puppies.

Belinda Lewis, the Director of Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, called the videos "horrible". She and her team were able to link the videos back to 22-year-old Joshua Moore. He’s from Chicago, but was reportedly in Fort Wayne staying with his sister.

Lewis called Fort Wayne Police and asked them to keep an eye out for him. In less than 24 hours, Moore was located and brought to Animal Care and Control for questioning. Lewis said Moore confessed to the acts and the videos. He said they all took place at a home in Chicago. The teen's name isn't being released, but Lewis said he is a 13-year-old and lives with Moore.

According to Lewis, Thursday night Moore boarded a bus on his own in Fort Wayne to go back to Chicago. Lewis had already contacted Chicago police and passed along the videos and taped interview with Moore. Chicago police were waiting for Moore when he arrived and arrested him Thursday night.

"Without the phenomenal work and tenacity of Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control, these little dogs, who were totally at the mercy of this sadistic pair, would still be in the hands of their abusers," said PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "PETA thanks law enforcement for doing what it took to get these animals to safety and bring those who terrorized them to justice. We fear for what this man and his juvenile cohort will do in the community as the years go by."

Moore is facing four felony animal torture and eight misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. The juvenile was charged with six counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and three counts of animal torture.

Lewis said Illinois has tougher animal cruelty laws than Indiana which is why they are facing felonies.

The dogs were all terriers, chihuahuas or mixes of the two. Five dogs and five puppies were taken into protective custody by police. They did not find any deceased dogs or puppies, but Lewis said she was not certain of the condition of the animals when they were taken from the home.