The Marine Corps called the video "shocking and deplorable and is contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine."

Marine spokesman Maj. Chris Perrine said the soldier in the video was believed to be based in Hawaii and he added, "We do not tolerate this type of behavior and will take appropriate action."

The video looks like it was shot by a cell phone camera. The Marine holds the black and white puppy by the neck and says, "Cute little puppy, huh?"

He then throws the dog over the cliff and the Marine shrugs his shoulders while another Marine laughs and says, "That's mean. That was mean, Motari."

Perinne added, "Certainly there's a lot of outrage and a lot of people are upset about it. I think every Marine is upset about this video. We will investigate and take appropriate action and make sure our Marine is safe as well. That is mistreatment of a puppy. That is a violation of anybody's standards. and the Marine Corps sets extremely high standards."

The authenticity of the clip, which was viewed more than 145,000 times since it was uploaded to YouTube, has not been verified. "It's questionable," sources told one national online news agency. "But even if it was a fake, it's still outrageous." The video has been removed from YouTube because it violated content rules.

Source: News for cats and dogs - Investigation Into Video Of Marine Throwing Dog Off Cliff In Iraq