// a href = ./ //

Benetta Johnson was convicted today for causing a pit bull puppy to be dragged for miles down Interstate 55.

A judge delivered her sentence almost immediately after the verdict. Johnson will serve two years probation and perform 150 hours of community service. She is also barred from owning of caring for a pet for two years. Johnson had her son tie their puppy to the back of her ex-husbands pickup truck. He unknowingly dragged the dog down the highway.

The puppy, named Trooper by the Humane Society, has made a remarkable recovery.

The trial resumes tomorrow for an East St. Louis, Illinois woman accused of animal abuse.

A pit bull puppy was found tied to her her ex-husband's pickup truck and was dragged down a St. Louis interstate.

The case now goes to the defense on Thursday after prosecutors yesterday rested their case in the bench trial of 41-year-old Benetta Johnson.

Authorities believe Johnson tried to return the dog now dubbed Trooper to her ex-husband and, according to her statement to police, told her 13-year-old son last November to put the dog in the bed of her former spouse's pickup truck.

The teen instead tied the puppy to the truck's trailer hitch, and the driver didn't see the dog and began driving down Interstate 55.

The dog survived but underwent a series of operations.