A guy who offered to "crop" the ears of a dog-owner's pit bull ended up hacking off the puppy's entire ear flaps with scissors and a box cutter, police say.

Police haven't been able to identify the man, but a reward of up to $1,000 is being offered.

Phoenix Police Sergeant Darren Burch, the Silent Witness spokesman, says the owner of the pit bull puppy was walking his dog last month near 26th Street and McDowell Road when he met the man who offered to crop the puppy's ears.

Instead, the man essentially just mutilated the dog's ears.

"The procedure resulted in placing the puppy at risk for hearing loss and also hemorrhage, cranial infection, permanent disfigurement and protracted suffering," Burch says in an e-mail.

The puppy's owner gave a description of the man to police. His name might be Robert or Roberto, and he's got some pretty easy tattoos to identify, including skulls inked on both sides of his head, and three dots tattooed next to his eye.

He has his own pit bull with mutilated ears, too.

Phone up 480-WITNESS if you want that reward.

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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.