The capacity for evil in humans is mind-boggling. It puzzles me how someone can be so sadistic every time I hear about one of these stories.
There was an incident here in the Dallas area not too long ago, where someone abducted a dachshund-mix (I think) from someone's porch, and poked both of his eyes out. The dog made it back to his house, and after some surgery, survived.
Makes my blood boil. I'm not sure I would be able to avoid jail time if I ever came across someone abusing an animal.