BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) – A Boulder woman is facing charges of animal cruelty after witnesses told police she was running a Chihuahua alongside her car.

Joan Renee Zalk, 29, is an acupuncturist and yoga instructor. Witnesses told police she was driving 10 to 15 miles per hour with the dog running alongside the car last Friday morning.

Zalk told a judge was pet-sitting and just doing what the owner wanted. The dog’s owner, Erin Livers, said she was not aware Zalk ran the dog from the car.

Zalk is also charged with felony menacing. She scheduled in court Wednesday morning.