A Minneapolis woman who put a live puppy in the mail as a birthday gift to her son in Georgia failed today in her attempt to reclaim the animal after it was intercepted at the post office.
Minneapolis administrative hearing officer Fabian Hoffner ruled against the woman, calling what she did "disgraceful."
The woman, Stacey Champion, 39, was trying to send the puppy by air-mail, which meant the dog would have been put in a cargo plane's unheated compartment for a deadly flight south.
Champion appeared the administrative hearing at City Hall in hopes of reclaiming Guess, the 4-month-old Schnauzer-poodle mix that she put in a sealed box without food on Jan. 25.
Appearing at the hearing, Champion said, "I did my best with the procedures and everything." Champion said she had air holes in box and that it held water bottles. Earlier, postal officials had said the box had no air holes and contained no nourishment for the dog.
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By postal workers halting delivery, "I was deprived of my son not receiving his gift for his birthday," Champion said.
Surrounded by news cameras and reporters, Champion left City Hall and declined to comment on her defeat.
The dog, which has been housed at the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control shelter since its discovery, is still owned by Champion but now moves closer to going up for adoption, perhaps as soon as next week.
Animal control manager Daniel Nizolek said Champion will be asked to post a bond to pay for Guess' care while at the shelter until her hearing on the misdemeanor animal-cruelty charge that she faces.
If she doesn't post the bond within five days of it being requested, she'll lose ownership of the puppy, making it available for adoption.
If she posts the bond, Guess' ultimate ownership will hinge on the result of the misdemeanor charge in Hennepin County District Court.
Arguing against giving the puppy back to Champion, U.S. Postal Service Inspector Jesse Swanson explained that what the woman did was unsafe for Guess. The dog would have suffocated or died of exposure, Swanson said.
On Jan. 25, employees at the Loring Station post office in downtown Minneapolis saw Guess' box move and heard the puppy breathing.
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Swanson said today that postal workers called her and held the phone to the box. "I could hear panting," she said.
Concerned that the breathing holes were covered by packing tape and that the panting was getting "slower and less frequent," Swanson allowed the box to be opened.
The Postal Service will ship some live animals such as bees, certain small and harmless cold-blooded animals, chicks and ducklings. But sending live dogs and cats through the mail is not allowed.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
