news-record.com

GREENSBORO — A woman says her roommate killed her dog Friday at their Cotswold Avenue apartment.

Amanda Elise Todd, 21, was charged with animal cruelty after her roommate, Carrie Anne Stedman, found her dog dead inside its cage.

Stedman said she came home Friday night and was surprised that her dog, a small Maltese, didn’t meet her at the door. She found the dog dead in her bedroom.

After leaving her room, she noticed blood on the ceiling and walls.

“The only peace I have is knowing that she died instantly from a fractured skull,” Stedman said.

Police records say the dog was bashed against the wall and its teeth were knocked out.

The Maltese was named “Little Richard” after Stedman’s father, who had given her the dog about 5 years ago. Stedman said she became very attached to the dog, especially after her father died in 2006.

“We saw a lot of our dad in ‘Little,’ ” she said. “… She took away our closure.”

The two roommates had lived together for about 3 months, Stedman said. They met through a mutual friend. Stedman moved out of the apartment shortly after the incident.

Todd, who was unable to be reached for comment on Tuesday, had worked as a dog groomer at Dog Days on Battleground Avenue. An employee said Todd is no longer working there, but she could not comment any further.

Todd admitted to being on cocaine at the time of the incident, according to police records. She was released from the Guilford County Jail on a $1,000 bond.