BATON ROUGE - A man was booked on domestic abuse and animal cruelty charges after he allegedly grabbed a woman by the throat during an argument and then shot their dog when it tried to protect her. 

The confrontation happened Sunday at a home on Cavalier Drive, after the victim got into an argument with Andrew Williams, 38. 

The woman told East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies that they were moving the argument into the bedroom — away from a teenage girl who was also home at the time — when Williams grabbed her neck. 

She told deputies that the family dog, a female pit bull, became defensive and started growling at Williams. Arrest documents say he then tried to close the door to the bedroom, hitting the dog in the process. 

As the argument moved outside, the dog followed them and started growling again as Williams once again put his hand around the victim's throat, deputies noted in arrest documents. Williams then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot the dog, at which point both the woman and teenager fled the home. 

When questioned by law enforcement, Williams admitted to shooting the dog but claimed he never put his hands on the victim. He claimed the dog was trying to attack him when he shot it, though the victim said that was not what happened.

Williams was booked into jail for domestic abuse battery and aggravated animal cruelty.

The dog was still alive as of Sunday and taken to an animal hospital for treatment.