Animal news in D.C.: sometimes fun, sometimes outrageous and disgusting. Two cats were found in D.C. in May with some horrific injuries, and the alleged culprit was charged last weekend, according to a Washington Humane Society press release (emphasis added):

The kittens were taken immediately to a local emergency animal hospital, where surgeons found that each of the kittens’ claws had been ripped from their feet. In the process of this home declawing procedure most of the bones in each foot were crushed, including each of the kittens’ four legs. Doctors believe the breaks occurred when kittens struggled to escape. Due to the severity of the injuries the kittens sustained, the bones could not be repaired and both were euthanized.

Eric Gaskin, the D.C. man allegedly behind the horrific crime, has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty.

Photo courtesy the Washington Humane Society