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Copyright © 2015 Albuquerque Journal

Madeline Dick thought her pug “Vader” had run away in early January. She spent hours with her family searching Northeast Albuquerque streets for him. They called his name, and they put missing-dog posters on utility poles. Neighbors joined the search. Vader never returned.

That’s because he had been strangled.

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In March, Dick’s girlfriend at the time, 22-year-old Loren Madrid, told her she had strangled the 8-year-old pug. After dumping his carcass behind a T.J. Maxx, she told Dick the dog had run away, according to Madrid’s statement to police detailed in court records.

“He was my little boy. My baby. He never deserved any of that,” Dick said about her dog, which she got as a gift from her parents when she was in seventh grade.

Madrid was arrested Tuesday and charged with extreme animal cruelty and tampering with evidence. She did not respond to an interview request Wednesday.

Police began investigating the allegations in March, after Dick called them to report alleged physical abuse from Madrid. Both Dick and Madrid told police their relationship was abusive and tumultuous, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court on Wednesday.

They had moved in together in October 2014 and Dick brought Vader with her, according to the complaint. Madrid told police the dog would routinely urinate on the couch and carpet.

Madrid said she wasn’t sleeping much and was “done” with the situation.

On Jan. 3, she grabbed Vader by his neck and strangled him, she said, and then couldn’t revive him.

She put him in a trash bag and drove around until she found a dumpster behind T.J. Maxx near Louisiana and Montgomery NE, where she left his carcass, according to the complaint.

She then made up the story about Vader running away, police said.

Dick said in an interview that she was heartbroken and searched the neighborhood for Vader.

Madrid eventually told her she had killed the dog, according to the complaint. She gave Dick the dog’s tags, which she had been hiding since Vader’s death. She said she blacked out in rage toward the animal, according to Dick.

She said Vader would always follow her around.

“He was awesome, he would snuggle with you. He was my shadow,” Dick said.

She broke up with Madrid, and reported both the abuse and her dog’s death to police about a week later.

Madrid was booked into the county jail Tuesday. She was released the same day, jail records show.

Digital Editor Robert Browman contributed to this report.