Woman Who Tried To Mail Puppy Won’t Get It Back

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A Minneapolis woman who tried to mail a puppy
to her son in Georgia won't get the dog back.

Thirty-nine-year-old Stacey Champion attended an administrative hearing at Minneapolis City Hall Monday to try to reclaim the 4-month-old Schnauzer mix. But authorities denied her request.

Champion was charged with animal cruelty after postal workers discovered the puppy last month in a sealed box with no air holes.

Authorities say the puppy likely would have died if shipped. Postal workers discovered the package because it was moving.

At Monday's hearing, Champion claimed she put air holes and water bottles in the box. She says her son was deprived of his birthday gift.

The Minneapolis Animal Care and Control shelter has cared for the puppy, named Guess, since the incident.

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