The Suffolk SPCA says the owner of a dog that was found drowned has been arrested for animal cruelty.

According to authorities, 66-year-old John Shultz, of West Islip, chained a cement block to the dog's neck and threw it into the canal behind his Secatogue Lane East home.

Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk SPCA, says the alleged crime is the most heinous he has seen in his career, and detectives worked aggressively to catch Shultz.

"There is no justification in this world to have somebody do this to any animal, especially when it's a family pet," Gross said.

According to Gross, a neighbor found the Rottweiler mix's remains floating in the canal last September. A necropsy performed on the 7-year-old dog revealed that she was still alive when she was tossed into the water.

A judge released Shultz on his own recognizance.