FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A man has been arrested after deputies found a dog that had been beaten to death, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

On May 7, Winston-Salem police responded to a report of a domestic incident involving a man and woman on Petree Road. Once at the scene, officers called in deputies to help regarding possible animal cruelty.

Animal Services deputies arrived to find a man covered in blood, which he reportedly told deputies was his own, and the body of a dog named Blondie lying on the back porch dead. Investigators found blood stains on multiple areas of the back porch.

The woman told investigators that she did not see the man hurt Blondie during the domestic incident, but multiple witnesses said they saw the man yelling at Blondie and beating the dog against the railing of the back porch.

The man denied being involved and asked deputies to do all they could to find the person who killed the dog.

Blondie’s body was taken to the state laboratory for a necropsy, which revealed that the dog died of severe blunt-force trauma with multiple traumatic injuries to her back and spinal cord. The dog had multiple fractures to her head, face and jaw, as well as fractures with pulmonary lacerations to her ribs. The dog’s liver had lacerations and hemorrhaging.

Elson Ditrez Warren, 51, of Winston-Salem, was arrested on Friday and charged with felony animal cruelty. He received a secured bond of $2,500.

The FCSO said in a news release that the department “has a zero-tolerance stance on animal cruelty.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office at (336) 727-2112. Information, photos and video can be texted to (336) 920-8477. Anonymous calls can be made to Crimestoppers at (336) 727-2800 for English or (336) 728-3904 for Spanish. To report information about juvenile behavior or to request juvenile intervention resources, call the Juvenile Intervention and Investigation Team at (336) 917-7030.