NEW HAMPSHIRE (CNN) — A New Hampshire woman is accused of intentionally drowning her golden retriever.

66-year-old Nancy Bucciarelli faces a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge after Merrimack Police say she pushed her elderly golden retriever off this dock and watched it drown.

“I’m just overwhelmed with it. It’s disgusting,” said Paul Woods, who lives nearby the woman. “When I heard about it, I almost got sick.”

Although the suspect was arrested Friday, police say the incident happened a week ago on Naticook Lake.

“It is a sad story. It’s unconscionable to think what this defendant is charged with,” said Merrimack Police Chief Denise Roy.

Police say the 11-year-old dog, named Bailey, was winded while walking around before the drowning. Bailey’s owner allegedly did nothing to help as the animal struggled in the water.

“The witnesses actually are the ones who jumped into the water to find the dog under the water and pull the dog out. They made every attempt to revive the dog but unfortunately the dog did die,” the police chief said.

Chief Roy says right now, a possible motive is not clear.

“We may never know what really happened there, except for what the witnesses observed and what the defendant has said,” she said.

Now she’s concerned about the public response to this case.

“There’s become a social media frenzy that we don’t want. She’s charged with a horrific crime however this doesn’t help,” the chief said. “This actually feeds into it and makes it worse and it really stops the process from working effectively.”

Bucciarelli has not responded to our request for comment.

“You can’t abuse animals. We have too much abuse today in everything else,” Woods said.

Bucciarelli was released from custody on personal recognizance and is set to appear in court later this month.

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