NEW YORK - Tatum O'Neal has told a newspaper that she was distraught over the loss of her dog when she went looking to buy drugs from a Manhattan street dealer last weekend.
The 44-year-old actress says in Tuesday editions of the New York Post that she lost her Scottish terrier about three weeks ago.
She spoke to the Post in a telephone call after being arraigned Monday on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance. She entered no plea.
O'Neal says that her arrest Sunday "saved" her from possibly ruining her life. Police have accused her of buying cocaine.
She stars in the "Rescue Me" TV series and won an Oscar for 1973's "Paper Moon."
