HONOLULU -- More details came out in court Tuesday about a case of a dog stolen and allegedly eaten by the thieves.

Witness Marcos Norbert said Moaunalua Golf Club co-workers Saturnino Palting and Nelson Domingo claimed they had their boss' permission to take Caddie, a shepherd-lab mix owned by a golfer.

Norbert said they took the dog and put in the trunk of a car.

"They was telling me that they [were] going to kill the dog," Norbet said.

Moaunalua Golf Club Manager Steven Burke said he was outraged later confronted his two employees.

"I asked them why would they take the dog, and at that point they told me, 'Feeding, feeding,'" Burke said. "I said, 'For feeding, for feeding who?' and he motioned between the two of them."

The two men are charged with misdemeanor theft and felony animal cruelty. Their attorneys said prosecutors haven't made it clear what is meant by cruelty. The judge read from a witness statement.

"Palting was holding the dog down while defendant Domingo stuck the dog in its chest or stabbed the dog in his chest," Burke said.

Prosecutors said the details to this case are crucial because the animal cruelty law was written to ban dog-eating, so exactly how the dog died will be important in the case

The judge agreed the case can go on. The defense's next tactic is to get the men's confession to their boss kept out of their trial.