A man has been arrested in Victoria after a three-month-old pit bull was severely beaten and killed in a hotel room early Saturday.

Sgt. Grant Hamilton of the Victoria Police Department says guests at the hotel called police after hearing a puppy crying out while it was being assaulted.

Hamilton says police arrived to find the puppy motionless on the bed, and dog feces and bloody towels were littered all over the suite.

He says the dog was rushed to a veterinary hospital but could not be saved.

Hamilton says the 24-year-old suspect, who is known to police, did not own the dog and was supposed to be looking after it for someone else.

He says a search of the suite produced drugs, but no weapon was found.