"Cute little puppy huh?"

A Marine can be heard making that comment in a video that shows him holding a puppy, joking with a fellow Marine and then apparently throwing the puppy down a steep embankment.

Various Web sites have identified the man as Lance Cpl. David Motari based out of Kaneohe.

The military isn't confirming who it is but an investigation is underway.

"We need to determine, is it him?" said Maj. Chris Perrine, spokesperson for the Hawaii Marine Corps. "Is this a legitimate video? Is what it appears to be?"

Real or not, the video has many outraged.

The Hawaii Humane Society said "we understand what the military faces during these times...during war, but this is unacceptable."

And in the Internet community, hundreds of angry comments and reportedly threats have been posted soon after the video's post on the video sharing site YouTube.com.

Someone even posted the marine's contact information in Washington state. When we tried the number, we couldn't get through.

If the Marine Corps finds that the man in the video is Motari and that the video isn't doctored, he'll face a possible demotion or loss of pay or he could even be kicked out of the Marine Corps.

"The actions you see in that video are shocking and deplorable," said Maj. Perrine. "There's nothing that can justify that. That is mistreatment of a puppy that is a violation of anybody's standards and the marine corps sets extremely high standards, so we take it seriously. We will investigate and take appropriate actions."

People have been taking a very close look at the video.

On the Internet, there's been talk that the puppy was already dead or that it was just a stuffed animal.

We'll keep you posted on the investigation.

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