An Oakhurst woman was behind bars Wednesday night after authorities said she beat a puppy so badly that even veteran law enforcement officials were shocked.

Janice Aguilar, 39, was arrested Wednesday after she allegedly beat the dog, stuffed the suffering animal into her backpack, and walked away instead of having it treated by a veterinarian, Madera County sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said.

Deputies were called by Aguilar's neighbors in the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Oakhurst around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday when they saw her beating the puppy and banging it on the ground, Stuart said.

Before deputies arrived Aguilar put the injured dog described by Stuart as "crying in pain" into her backpack and flagged down a passing car.

The driver of the car drove Aguilar and the dog to the offices of two separate veterinarians, but according to Stuart, Aguilar refused to bring the puppy into either office for treatment. And, according to Stuart, after the second stop Aguilar asked to be dropped off at nearby park, got out of the car and walked away.

"The sick part of this, the witness could hear the dog whimpering, and assumed the woman wanted go to a vet," Stuart said.

"Instead she got dropped off near a park," Stuart said.

The dog, believed to be a lab mix between 8 and 11 weeks old, was put down by another witness who saw the severe pain the dog was in and thought it was beyond help, Stuart said.

"The witness felt the only thing to do was to put the animal out of its misery," Stuart said.

"I have dealt with animal neglect, but I have never dealt with such an extreme case of cruelty to an animal," Stuart said.

Aguilar, who told deputies that the dog was attacked by a pit bull, was booked into Madera County Jail late Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of animal cruelty and death.

Bail information, if any, and a court appearance date was not available Wednesday evening.