Police say a cocker spaniel puppy died at the hands of an 11-year-old. Authorities say it was in retaliation when the girl didn't get her way. YNN's Erin Vannella talked to area SPCA staff who deals with similar situations, they say, all too often.

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LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. -- "This is definitely a violent case,” said SPCA of Upstate New York Executive Director Cathy Cloutier. "The correlation between domestic violence and animal abuse is a known fact."

Staff at the SPCA of Upstate New York try to rationalize why police say an 11-year-old girl killed a spaniel puppy out of spite this weekend.

"[For] the intervention, the police were there," said Cloutier. "Getting this young child what they need is so important because it reflects from animals to people."

State police say the girl, originally from Saratoga, had been placed in overnight foster care in Lake George Sunday and when denied a request to her foster mother for a ride somewhere, killed the woman's dog.

"At this time, the matter has been referred to the family court in Warren County," said NYSP Troop G Trooper Mark Cepiel. "The individual is being charged with two felony level situations.

Criminal mischief and aggravated cruelty to animals are charges from an environment SPCA staff say is more typically animal friendly.

"Animals in foster care, the majority of the time, help people," said Cloutier. "You know they bring children out of their shells, they bring adults out and lower our blood pressure. There's so many good things they do for us."

Staff goes on to say while it's easy to feel the care taker's pain, efforts must be spent making sure something like this or worse doesn't happen in the future.

"Any animal lover, I think, can see that picture of it," said Cloutier. "But we can't lose fact that this child really needs some major, serious help before other victims are in her line."