Minneapolis Woman Accused Of Mailing Puppy

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minneapolis woman has been cited for animal cruelty after postal workers say they discovered a puppy in a box she mailed to Georgia.

Police say the box was taped shut and had no air holes. And, had it been sent for delivery, the box would have been put in an airplane's unheated and non-pressurized cargo hold. Sgt. William Palmer says the Postal Service told police the dog would have died.

Postal Service spokesman Pete Nowacki says post office employees became suspicious when the box fell off the counter after the woman left last Tuesday. Postal inspectors were summoned, the box was opened and the 4-month-old poodle mix was found inside, panting hard, but unharmed.

The dog was taken to the city's animal control facility.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)