A former Forsyth County dog groomer has been convicted of aggravated cruelty to animals and sentenced to five years in prison for kicking and choking a dog to death in October 2017. On Thursday morning, a jury convicted Michelle Louise Root, 44, of Hall County, for killing a dog named Meko. Root was acquitted of a second charge of aggravated animal cruelty for the death of another dog. Root’s five-year sentence includes three years in prison and two years of probation. Root also faces fines, community service hours and restitution. Root is also prohibited from ever caring for or grooming any animal not owned by her. Little over an hour after the jury’s verdict was read, Root stood before judge David L. Dickinson in Forsyth County Superior Court to receive his sentencing and final comments in the case. “Ma’am, you have been abusing animals for a long time, far too long,” Dickinson said. “It will now stop.”