A Santa Barbara man was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly abusing his girlfriend and her puppy, which sustained such serious injuries that it may have to be euthanized, police said.

Duanying Chen, 19, of Santa Barbara, was arrested for the felonies of domestic battery against his 21-year-old girlfriend as well as a charge of animal cruelty involving her 5-month-old male miniature pinscher puppy, according to Sgt. Riley Harwood of the Santa Barbara Police Department.

Harwood said the dog was severely abused and is suffering multiple life-threatening injuries and may have to be euthanized because of its deteriorating condition.

On May 14, an officer responded to a local veterinary hospital, where Chen's girlfriend has brought the puppy for medical treatment.

"The clinic staff saw that the animal had multiple injuries consistent with having been abused," Harwood said, adding that after questioning the dog's owner, staff suspected the woman was also the victim of domestic violence and called police.

More investigation was done by an animal control officer and a Crimes Against Persons detective, and the woman told them she had been manually strangled by Chen until she nearly lost consciousness after a heated argument earlier in May.

On the morning of May 14, the woman left her healthy puppy in Chen’s care, but stated that when she returned home around 8 p.m., the puppy was hiding underneath a table, unable to walk.

Chen explained to his girlfriend that the dog sustained its injuries from a fall from the top of a pingpong table, but Harwood said an examination revealed injuries consistent with abuse rather than a fall.

"The animal was suffering from multiple broken bones, multiple lacerations and burns, neurological damage, and wounds to its rectum and genitals," Harwood said.

A $75,000 felony arrest warrant for Chen was obtained this last Tuesday, as well as a search warrant for his home in the 2000 block of Monterey Street.

He was arrested and booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) . Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.