KINGSBURY -- The SUNY Adirondack student accused of burglarizing the SPCA of Upstate New York’s shelter and stealing a blind dog last week told police she has “medical issues and need(s) a service dog,” according to court records.

“I am very compassionate and have fostered dogs before,” Deirdre Smith told Washington County sheriff’s officers, according to court records.

Smith, 19, of Clinton, was arrested Friday, hours after an 11-year-old Shih Tzu mix named Spinner was taken from the Queensbury Avenue shelter. Police said the thief broke a window to enter the shelter and stole nothing but the tiny, 8-pound dog, which wasn’t up for adoption because it was the pet of the office staff.

Smith allegedly took the dog to her dorm room at the community college.

She was arrested and the dog recovered Friday afternoon, after a SUNY Adirondack campus security officer saw media reports of the theft and questioned whether the canine was the one stolen from the shelter.