A woman who was seen on a YouTube video dragging her 4-year-old son through Rome’s Verizon store appeared on Dr. Phil Tuesday to tell her side of the story.

The Rome News-Tribune first posted the story on April 21 when Melissa Catherine Smith-Means, 37, of Gaylesville, Ala., was arrested by Rome police and charged with felony first-degree cruelty to children.

Smith-Means told Phil McGraw that she was simply playing a game with her child, and that he was having fun.

“It’s his toy,” she said on the show. “It’s always been used in airports. It’s a game he and his dad have always played since he began to walk. It has a pad on it. He likes to turn over, put his little leg up — it’s got padding on the back — hold onto the tail, and Dad pulls him.”

Smith-Means appeared via satellite with her attorney, Rome's Wade Hoyt, and her mother.

“I can find no evidence whatsoever of this mom ever doing anything but being a loving and caring mom,” McGraw said. He then turned to Smith-Means.

“Do I think you made the best decision in the world? Not necessarily. I think if I got a kid on the end of a leash and I’m dragging him around corners, I think I would look back.”

McGraw also asked Hoyt if he thought the woman would be prosecuted for a felony.

“I certainly hope not,” he said. “At this point in time, there’s just been an arrest. There’s been no indictment. I am very hopeful that after looking at all of the information and the evidence, and much more than a 13-second video, that they will elect not to do so, because I don’t believe it’s criminal.”