WEST MONROE- Louisiana police say a man who'd been left with a Yorkshire terrier scalded its face, then briefly shut it in his hostess' freezer.

Twenty-four-year-old Samuel Smith of West Monroe was arrested Thursday on a felony count of animal cruelty.

Sara Durbin of West Monroe says she went to work Wednesday, leaving someone she considered a friend in her apartment with her 3½-pound pet.

She says Smith told her Bitty Boo got out and came back hurt. She later found dog hair in her freezer.

A policereport quotes Smith as saying he "did not mean to mutilate" the dog but sprayed it with hot water and put it in the freezer for about 30 seconds.

Smith couldn't be reached for comment. Directory assistance doesn't have a listing for him.