A Juvenile Court referee on June 12, 2006 ordered two boys who cut off a puppy's ears to perform 200 hours of community service. Both teens are charged with aggravated animal cruelty.

In May, 2006 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Juvenile Court prosecutor Terre Fratesi after being "flooded" with messages about the case from Memphis-area residents, said Dan Paden, researcher in the domestic animal department at PETA's Norfolk, Va., headquarters. "PETA is asking that if convicted, and in addition to serving periods of detention, the teens be banned for life from all contact with animals, as is allowed by Tennessee law," PETA states in a news release. The organization also asks that the 15- and 16-year-old boys be provided whatever counseling and treatment necessary.

In addition to the community service, Referee Herbert Lane also ordered Antonio Malone, 16, and Blake Moore, 15, to undergo psychological evaluations before he decides on the rest of the sentence.

They are accused of cutting off one ear of a pit bull puppy and much of another on April 18, 2006.

We have photographs" of the dog, Juvenile Court Prosecutor Terre Fratesi told Lane. No need, the judge responded. He had seen images of the injured pit bull on the news.

"What was the purpose of cutting the dog's ears off?" Lane asked. For aesthetic reasons, responded Collierville Det. Rich Mawyer, who investigated the case. The cutting "did everything but" make the dog look better, Lane said.

The ears of pit bulls are sometimes cropped by people involved in dog-fighting. But any such surgery in Tennessee must be done by a veterinarian, who would use anesthesia. The teens did it in a kitchen with a razor. Moore took the bleeding animal to the animal shelter for help, telling officials he had found the dog.

Fratesi told Lane the state is concerned that the boys may have friends or relatives involved in dog-fighting.

Mental health and law enforcement professionals consider animal cruelty to be a red flag on people who later could commit violence against people, PETA said.

"Young people who harm animals are a threat to society, and area authorities must send a strong message that violence in the community will not be swept under the rug," Paden said.

"Given the strong connection between cruelty to animals and other forms of violence, it is imperative, for everyone's sake, that this case be taken seriously."

Lane said he would think the most appropriate place for the teens to perform their community service is at the Collierville Animal Shelter. "To me, they need to be made to take care of animals," he said. But the town's Animal Services supervisor, Nina Wingfield, said the boys could not work there unless the state also provided someone to supervise them. Malone's attorney suggested the teens help with the construction of Memphis' new animal shelter.

Moore's attorney, Blake Ballin, sought probation, saying his client was a good child who experienced a lapse in judgment. But Fratesi countered that if the lapse were momentary, why didn't the boys stop after cutting the first ear of Moore's puppy?

Complete Story and Additional Story by Tom Bailey Jr

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