Dog dragged by leash behind pickup truck for half a mile

MELBOURNE, Florida -- A dog sustained serious injuries after it was dragged by its leash behind a pickup truck.

Police took a picture of it, still sitting in the back of the white pickup they say was used by 41-year-old Jean Alcee to drag the dog along a street in Melbourne, Florida.

Police said the dog survived but its bones were showing.

"It's horrible," one witness said to WESH-TV. "There was a trail of blood. I don't think that (Alcee) knew, because there was blood dragging from all the way down the road to where he stopped."

The dog was dragged behind the vehicle for about half a mile at approximately 45 miles per hour before the driver finally stopped, a police report said.

Another driver took action. Witnesses said another driver got in front of the pickup and forced it to stop.

"The lady, she just speeded past the man," said a witness. "I don't think he noticed that his dog was hanging."

The police report says there was a significant amount of blood in the bed of the truck, as well as on the roadway where the dog was being dragged.

The dog's injuries were so severe, its bones could be seen through the open wounds on its legs.

Police said Alcee then put the dog in the back of the truck and left it there without tending to its injuries.

The dog is recovering after being treated by a veterinarian. Alcee is charged with felony cruelty to animals and could face a year in prison if convicted.