DreamWorks animator accused of beating neighbor's dog with hammer

A 40-year-old DreamWorks animator pleaded not guilty Thursday to beating a neighbor’s muzzled dog with a hammer, an incident that was captured on video.

The man, Young Song, allegedly climbed the fence into a yard in the 1900 block of Navarro Avenue in Pasadena, where a 16-month-old German shepherd was muzzled but untied. Surveillance camera video shows the beating but does not reveal what Song did with the dog, which is missing and presumed dead.

According to authorities, Young shot the dog with a pellet gun, then returned with a hammer and began chasing and striking the defenseless animal until it lay senseless.

Industry sites identify Young as a "surfacer," an artisan who creates the look and surface qualities for animated characters, props and environments. Young's credits on animal-themed films include "Kung Fu Panda," "Shark Tale," "Bee Movie" and "Madagascar 2".

“When our officers first viewed the videotape, one of our officers had tears in his eyes. He’d never seen anything like this before,” said Steve McNall, who heads the Pasadena Humane Society and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “In my 31 years at this animal shelter I’ve never seen anything like this.”

McNall’s agency, which is licensed to investigate crimes involving animals, is conducting the probe and made the arrest in conjunction with Pasadena police.

The dog’s owner returned to a bloody scene, and discovered that his dog was missing. The events were recorded on a newly installed security camera.

The motive for the attack is not yet clear, although there was a hole at the bottom of the fence adjoining the two yards, meaning that the dog could have been entering the suspect’s property.

“It might have originated as a barking issue, a noise issue, and then escalated into something else,” McNall added.

A man who lives across the street expressed surprise to the Pasadena Star-News when he learned who had been arrested.

"He's a very nice and kind person," said Paul Lofthouse, who described Song as a husband and father. "He has three dogs of his own and chickens in the backyard. It's a total surprise."
 
Song was being held on $40,500 bail, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The formal charges are one felony count of cruelty to an animal and one misdemeanor count of petty theft of a dog with a special allegation of personal use of a deadly weapon, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Alison Matsumoto. If convicted, Song could face more than four years in prison, the district attorney’s office said.

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Comments

[Luis González]

While reading this news, I just asked myself why is it relevant that the guy was a Dreamworks animator? What does his job have to do with the crime he commited?

[openmind]

I hope he gets the four years in prison. Animal cruelty penalties need to be stiff so that people will take them seriously. That poor dog.

[cali4nia love]

The dog must have been muzzled to prevent him from barking. Therefore, Young could not have acted in a rage from being annoyed that the dog did not stop barking....he must have chosen that time to kill the dog knowing that it would not have been able to make any noise and alarm neighbors. Poor puppy :( He better get jail time.

[shadowpark]

Lock this punk up for god sakes!!!

[Phil Osopher]

I'm sorry there is NO EXCUSE for his actions.
To me dogs are gifts to us from God and are to be respected, treasured and love as all they want from us is love. THEY ARE NOT POSSESSIONS!

To me, four years is not enough for this guy to spend in prison.

He obviously has no respect for dogs and feels they are just possessions. People like that infuriate me no end.. I am sure he treats his other dogs like possessions and his wife also.

I'll just leave it at that.

[California Girl]

Disgusting.

[nisse8473]

Why can't you just report this as news instead of sensationalize it? How do you know the animal was defenseless? His job has nothing to do with it. If he was a plumber at some small local company, would you have put that in the article? And seriously, you googled his name and found him on an "industry site"? Is it really important to know that he worked on "animal-themed films"? Stop editorializing and just report the news. Have some journalistic integrity.

[TrueFreedom]

@Luis: I think it would have been better if they just described him as a professional computer animator without mentioning the company. His profession is not particularly relevant, but had it not been in there people may have assumed this guy to be your typical uneducated low-life that we have inhabiting many of our cities. Makes it more interesting when it's an educated professional who behaves psycho. Makes me wonder if the dude in the next cube is packing a hammer...

[LAMom]

The animator got animated and killed an animal. He is an animal. When he gets to prison, he will meet larger animals.

[NikL]

Lock him up and throw away the key. Anyone who can do this to an animal can do it to a child. Causing that much pain and suffering to any living thing is beyond horrific.

[the girl in the rainbow sweatshirt]

OMFG ANIMALS ROCK! THEY are so kind to us and loyal! they would be willing to kill themselves to protect us, and this is what we do to them! this is so gross and he deserves a life sentence in jail! if he did this to a child (dogs a child with ducktape on his mouth...) hed never see the light of day again.... why doesnt it work for DEFENSELESS. INNOCENT. ANIMALS?

[TrueFreedom]

Looking at the map, the dude lives in the gang infested part of town. You could easily go insane having to live around those goons. I see an insanity defense coming...

[Astonished]

nisse8473: They know the dog was muzzled because they have security film footage of the entire act. Didn't you read the article?

Obviously anyone who would do such a brutal act isn't "all right" in the head. Only a sick cowardly person would attack anything that can't fight back (for obvious reasons). It makes my blood boil to think that he did this, and it makes me worry that, if he has such poor control over himself, and is so disconnected from his emotions, what would he do to children who annoy him? Personally, I don't care if he's the head doctor of a famous hospital, or the bum living under an overpass. He needs to be removed from society, preferable permanently, before he take out this aggression on a human being.

[Robert Ameeti]

Leave his companies name out of the article. It has no relevance and unfairly associates other fine persons working there with this criminal.

[Animator]

Why isn't it relevant where he works in this story, Murder dog work on kiddie cartoons. Good story!

[Dog Lover]

I am so glad this was caught on video. I dont know how the dog owner has kept from going after this guy. I know I would have, I love my dog!

[Pietro]

The only part of this jump-the-gun article that is relevant is the phrase, "The motive for the attack is not yet clear...".

I am far more disgusted by people who inexplicably value the life of an animal over the clear indication that a professional father and pet owner was provoked to such an extent that he would commit such an act.

By the way, dogs are indeed possessions. You may own them, and put them 'to sleep' if you wish. Readjust your values, and have a little compassion for humans for once, you reactionary dimbulbs.

[a friend]

LA TIMES thanks for non bias reporting, as a friend of them it was a full grown beast that MINUTES prior to alleged "beating" had DUG A HUGE HOLE and COME INTO YOUNG'S BACKYARD...then ATTACKED his FAMILY'S three small dogs while his wife stood by helpless holding their newborn baby AND FIGHTING OFF THE DOG, SHE CALLED ANIMAL CONTROL WHO SAID THEY COULD DO NOTHING. I have no idea what happened after that, and have no comment to his state of mind for any action taken after the attack....NOR DO I CONDONE BEATING ANIMALS. Young is a kind man, and new father, whatever he may have done, he had to have percieved eminent danger whether it was present or not...LA TIMES WAS THE ONLY OUTLET TO AST LEAST ASK WHY, and not only report puppy (NOT A PUPPY BTW), hammer, brutal.

[Linda]

As an animal lover who lost a cat to an act of cruelty performed by a neighbor, I empathize and sympathize with the people who lost their puppy to this monster's horrendous actions. The fact that he could treat an animal so cruelly, shooting the puppy with a pellet gun and killing it with a hammer, makes me wonder if a human will be his next victim. I hope he spends a long time in jail.

And why isn't he being charged with trespassing?

[Lasseter]

This crime is horrible! Simply horrible!

[marie]

Sorry "A Friend, but a muzzled dog can't hurt you, maybe scratch, but that's it. If this dog was intimidating this woman, her child and dogs, why no common sense. Take the child inside, put it down, go outside(remember dog is muzzled can't bite you)get her dogs and take them inside. This man had no right to go into the neighbors yard and beat a defenseless dog(again, muzzled). The smart thing to do would be to wait until the neighbor came home and discuss it with him/her. Lock the dog killer up, any person that will do that to an animal will do it to a human, maybe even his own child.

[John]

What's the point of mentioning DreamWorks?

[Twosides]

I love animals and would never condone hurting them, but as stated in the above post, there are two sides to every story. The man had a new born baby and three small dogs that this large dog had dug under a fence to get to. He should have called the police. One of my friends had a neighbor's pitbulls maul and kill his miniature pinschers through a hole underneath the fence. He wasn't home and didn't have kids, but I can't imagine how scary it would be to have your family dogs and baby threatened by a large and aggressive poorly trained dog.

[Grobsy]

The felons in prison have a soft spot for dogs and will find Songs soft spot early and often. Hope he fing rots!

[Grobsy]

Ya 'a friend'...moron! The muzzled puppy must have had the 40 year old man with a gun and hammer who was chasing him shaking with terror! Now I totally understand why he did it... He was afraid! Riiiiight!