GREELEY, Colo. -- A woman accused of drugging and shooting her dog will not face charges.

Paula Harding, 33, had told Greeley police that her 15-year-old terrier poodle mix was sick and she couldn't afford a veterinarian to put the animal to sleep.

Police said she was arrested last week on suspicion of animal cruelty after her dog was given Xanax and was shot four times with a .22-caliber handgun earlier this month.

Harding told police the dog had been defecating and vomiting inside the house for several days.

Harding said she shot the dog because she "couldn't deal with it anymore."

"Bailey was my best friend," Harding told the Greeley Tribune. "I had a lot of financial problems lately, and my car was stolen, so I didn't have any money to take her to a vet to have her put down. Nobody would help."

Weld District Attorney Ken Buck said prosecutors couldn't prove that Harding tortured, mutilated or knowingly and needlessly killed the dog. No autopsy was done on the animal, but Buck said evidence showed the dog was ill and would have been put down if it had been taken to a veterinarian.