(Newser) – An animator who helped bring lovable creatures to life in movies like Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar 2 has been arrested for what Humane Society workers describe as one of the worst cases of animal abuse they've ever seen. DreamWorks employee Young Song is accused of shooting his neighbor's muzzled German Shepherd puppy with a pellet gun and then beating it to death with a hammer, reports the New York Daily News.

Song has pleaded not guilty to a felony count of animal cruelty that carries up to four years in jail, though the incident was captured on surveillance video. "When our officers first viewed the videotape, one of our officers had tears in his eyes. He'd never seen anything like this before," the head of the Pasadena Humane Society tells the Los Angeles Times. "In my 31 years at this animal shelter I've never seen anything like this." (Read more puppy stories.)

