DENVER -- A dog was found mutilated near a Dumpster early Thursday morning.

Police say the dog was taken from the back yard of a home in the 2600 block of Williams Street. Police followed a trail of blood from the back yard into an alley and found the abused animal.

The dog had blood near its mouth and a stick up its rectum, authorities said.

Next to the dog was a makeshift cross with a sign reading "The work of the next King ... a pure Act."

A 17-year-old boy was arrested but police aren't releasing any more details about him.

The dog's owner is 66 years old.

Recognizing Pet Abusers

According to experts, people who abuse pets are likely to do so because something happened in their childhood that desensitized them to violence. The experts say it can start as young as the age of 2.

Video

Watch Warning Signs Of Pet Abusers

"It's terrible -- just the fact that it happened. I don't care why," said Thea Alexander, a woman who lives in the neighborhood where the dog was killed. "There's no excuse for it."

Alexander can't understand why someone would mutilate a dog.

"I see that dog all the time -- the little pet dog right there in the alley," she said. "If a person can do that, what else will they do?"

According to experts, the abuser can do a lot more.

"This link between animal cruelty and violence towards humans has been documented for centuries," said Diane Balkin, a Denver deputy district attorney.

Like most animal cruelty cases, Balkin says pet abuse is about power and control.

"The offender can exercise power over something that can't defend itself," Balkin said.

She says catching cruel behavior early on is key.

"Even if you see your child teasing an animal, you want to intervene and tell them what is good and not good. What's permissible, what's not permissible," she said.

According to PetAbuse.com -- a nonprofit organization -- another way to help prevent animal cruelty is to report the crimes.

For more on pet abuse prevention, visit www.petabuse.com