'Gizmo' before being kicked (The Tennessean)

A Tennessee man is facing criminal charges after he allegedly kicked a two-pound terrier like a football as if he were trying to score a field goal, killing the pet.

Chad Crawford, 23, of Priest Lake, Tenn., is free today after posting $25,000 bail on charges of cruelty to animals and felony vandalism.

''I didn't believe that they actually kicked my dog,'' Jelani Lewis told the Tennessean. ''When I saw him kick it, I was thinking, maybe for a second, 'No, that really isn't Gizmo he's kicking.'''

Crawford reportedly had the help of two other men in the incident.

Chad Crawford's booking photo (The Tennessean)

One of the men ''with tattoos on both arms was holding the dog like a football,'' Lewis told the paper. ''The other one backed up and kicked him ... like a place kicker.''

Gizmo, a 17-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, is said to have soared into the air in a high arc before smashing down into an apartment-complex parking lot.

Lewis says Crawford and his friends laughed before running away from the scene.

''There is an obvious question about the mental makeup of someone who would do a thing like this to a tiny animal,'' said Metro Animal Control Director Judy Ladebauche. ''This is heartbreaking. I've seen horrific things but not like this. I cannot imagine where someone's mind would be who would do something like this.''

Reached by the Tennessean at his home, Crawford denied the allegations but refused further comment as he was seeking an attorney.

The charge could be upgraded to the state's newly created aggravated animal-cruelty charge, which could result in a mandatory mental evaluation, with second offenses classified as a felony.