Two Teenagers Arrested After Posting Video of Cat Attack on MySpace

Two teenage boys from Angelton, Texas (a suburb of Houston) were arrested Wednesday on charges of animal cruelty. The boys allegedly filmed a video that shows a pit pull attacking and dismembering a cat and then posted it on a MySpace.com web page.

Reportedly, the video shows an orange stray cat tied to the bumper of a truck. One boy got the dog excited and then enticed it to attack the cat while the other boy filmed the assault. News of the video quickly spread throughout the Internet on chat groups and message boards. Janet Keleher, from Burt, New York, heard about the video on a Yahoo chat group and after viewing it, immediately contacted police. She said, "It was quite disturbing to see this with someone so young. I was frustrated because I knew the dog was going to pay the price."

Stephanie Kohls, an Angelton Police Detective, responded to the call. After viewing the video, she recognized the home because she had responded to an incident there previously. According to Kohls, when she watched the video, she said "I know that yard." Paul Miguel, 17, was quickly identified as the owner of the Myspace page and the pit bull.

Miguel is being held at the Brazoria County Detention Center and his bail is set at $15,000. The other boy, who is remains unnamed because he is a juvenile, is being held in the county's juvenile detention facility.

Sergeant Kirk Coleman from the Angelton Police Department interviewed Miguel. "He has no remorse," he said. "He calmly sat and told us that he doesn't like cats. He said he likes to take videos and send them to his friends."

A brown and white female pit bull puppy named Brooke that appeared in the video along with another female pit bull named Coco were taken into custody by The Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (HSPCA). According to Heidi Brasher from HSPCA, the cat's body was found in a pile of brush a few yards behind Miguel's home. A county judge will view the video and then a hearing will be held on February 8^th to determine the fate of the dogs. Brasher said that they could either decide to "have the pit bull euthanized, give it back to the family, or have it remain in the custody of the HSPCA."

According to Stephanie Kohls, "Any time you allow two animals to fight, it is animal cruelty." In Texas, animal cruelty is a state penalty and punishment ranges from 180 days to two years in prison.

Posting videos or images of unlawful activity is not allowed under the terms of use imposed by MySpace. The video was quickly pulled from the site when administrators became aware of it.