A woman has been arrested after she reportedly pushed her 11-year-old Golden Retriever into a lake and watched him drown in the water.

66-year-old Nancy Bucciarelli was charged with animal cruelty after the incident. According to police, she was with her dog, Bailey, at Naticook Lake when she pushed him into the lake.

The horrific incident was seen by many bystanders, who said the woman just watched as the dog struggled to return to land. But the elderly pooch eventually drowned in the lake.

Police were immediately called to the scene. Merrimack Police Chief Denis Roy said to WMUR9: “It is a sad story. It’s unconscionable to think what this defendant is charged with.”

He added: “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 Facebook page of the 66-year-old has many photos of Bailey appearing well cared for and loved. One photo shows her with her arms wrapped around the pooch.

But Bucciarelli has now been inundated with hateful remarks on her social media page.

Chief Roy stated: “She’s charged with a horrific crime; however, this (hateful comments) doesn’t help. This actually feeds into it and makes it worse, and it really stops the process from happening effectively.”

One person commented: “This is just plain evil!! How could someone do this to a sweet golden retriever, they are the best dogs!! I don’t understand!!! This women deserves to be thrown off a bridge!! How could the witnesses not jump right in especially with the water only being 3 feet.”

Another wrote: “Punishment should be to drop her a couple miles out into the ocean and let her try to swim back.”

A third said: “So witnesses stood there and watched the dog die, and not wade in the 3 feet of water to save its life?”

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