Attempted mailing of live puppy in sealed box
Minneapolis, MN (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 25, 2011
County: Hennepin
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Dismissed
Case Images: 1 files available
Person of Interest: Stacey Champion
Case Updates: 6 update(s) available
A live puppy was sealed up in a box for air-mailing to Atlanta from downtown Minneapolis with no food or water, a potentially deadly act that has led to a 39-year-old woman being charged with animal cruelty.
The 4-month-old Schnauzer and poodle mix -- a male Schnoodle named "Guess" -- was brought to the post office on 12th Street North last Tuesday afternoon in a box that was wrapped entirely in packing tape that covered air holes, said Police Sgt. Angela Dodge.
Had the box been sent on its way, said Police Sgt. William Palmer, the puppy would have been put in an airplane's unheated and non-pressurized cargo hold.
"The Postal Service told us the dog would not have made it [alive]," Palmer said. "I've been doing this for 17 years. This is a new one on me."
The woman, Stacey Champion, who lives a few blocks away, paid $22 for her puppy to be sent to Georgia by priority mail, said Thompson Ojoyeyi, supervisor at the Loring Station post office.
Ojoyeyi said that a clerk asked Champion the standard questions about the box's contents, which was being shipped as a gift for a relative: whether there was anything perishable, liquid, hazardous, etc. She responded no.
However, "she did tell the clerk that the package may make some sounds because it contained a toy robot," said Postal Service spokesman Peter Nowacki.
Ojoyeyi recalled that the woman cautioned postal workers to " 'be careful, be careful' " as they handled the box because "it was so delicate."
After Champion left, the workers noticed that the box was moving.
"People were kind of really scared," Ojoyeyi said. "It was really moving. We tried to listen, and the thing was breathing. And the way it was breathing, we knew it was likely to be a puppy."
Postal workers contacted the postal inspectors -- the Postal Service's enforcement arm -- because they needed approval to open priority mail.
Once getting the OK, the box was opened and the "black and very small" dog was discovered, Ojoyeyi said.
"I gave water to the puppy," he said. "It drank it really fast."
Champion was cited for misdemeanor animal cruelty and has 10 days from being cited to appeal. The dog is now at the city's animal control facility. If Champion declines or loses her appeal, Guess would go up for adoption.
A telephone message was left for Champion seeking comment about the allegation.
Nowacki said that certain live animals can be mailed legally. In particular, it's common to mail chicks and ducklings, he said. The mailing of dogs and most other warm-blooded mammals, however, is not legal.
Ojoyeyi said the box had a return address on it that was from out of state but had her name.
After the postal inspector contacted Champion, she returned to the post office a few hours later and demanded a refund for the $22 she paid to have the box mailed, Ojoyeyi said. She also wanted back a small amount of paper currency she had attached to a makeshift collar around the dog's neck. He said her demand was rejected.
" 'I don't care about the package, you can keep the package,' " Ojoyeyi recalled her saying. "Her concern was the money and the postage."
Case UpdatesThe case against a woman who tried to mail a puppy from a Minneapolis post office to Georgia has been dismissed.
Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter ruled Wednesday in favor of Stacey Champion, 40, of Minneapolis, citing "mental deficiency."
Champion had been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty for putting a four-month-old black poodle-Schnauzer mix in a sealed box in January 2011 and trying to mail it to her son in Atlanta for his 11th birthday.
In the meantime, a civil commitment case has begun involving Champion, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Champion told postal employees the box contained a toy robot, but staffers at the post office near Loring Park discovered the puppy, named Guess, after the box fell off of the counter.
That intervention kept the dog from being flown in the airliner's unheated and non-pressurized cargo area, meaning it almost certainly would have arrived dead.
Champion attended an administrative hearing in hopes of getting the dog back but was turned down. The dog was eventually adopted by a Minneapolis woman picked in a drawing with about 50 potential owners who wanted to take the dog home. | Source: startribune.com - Mar 8, 2012
Update posted on Mar 8, 2012 - 5:04PM |
A Minneapolis woman charged with animal cruelty for allegedly attempting to mail a 4-month-old puppy to Atlanta will go to trial this summer.
Stacey Champion, 39, will stand trial July 7 in Hennepin County District Court , according to her attorney, University of Minnesota law professor Steve Simon. Simon and one of his students will represent Champion.
Champion, who was in court for a hearing on Wednesday, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. They stem from late January, when she allegedly paid $22 to send the black poodle-Schnauzer mix named Guess to Georgia via priority mail. The dog was to be a birthday gift for her 11-year-old son.
Champion told postal employees the box contained a toy robot, but they noticed the box move and heard the dog pant. The dog likely would have died in the airplane's frigid cargo hold.
She attended an administrative hearing in hopes of getting the dog back but was turned down. The dog was eventually adopted by a woman picked by about 50 potential owners who wanted to take the dog home. | Source: startribune.com - Apr 21, 2011
Update posted on Apr 21, 2011 - 12:00PM |
Stacey Champion, 39, made a court appearance Monday in Minneapolis.
Champion's next court hearing will be April 12. The judge ordered her not to have any pets.
She was represented in court by University of Minnesota law professor Steve Simon and one of his students.
Champion declined to comment. | Source: startribune.com - February 28, 2011
Update posted on Mar 4, 2011 - 12:20AM |
A 4-month-old poodle-schnauzer mix became property of the city of Minneapolis Monday night after its owner did not post the bond for it, city officials say.
Stacey Champion, 39, the dog's owner, was charged earlier this month with two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty after authorities say she tried to mail a dog to her son in Georgia as a birthday present.
The dog was sealed tight in a priority mail box with no food, water, or air holes.
Champion had until 7 p.m. Monday to post a bond for the dog, but never showed. The dog will be available later this week for adoption. Anyone interested must be at the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control at 212 1th Ave. N. in person. There will not be a waiting list.
Champion allegedly told a Post Office clerk that a toy robot was inside the box. When it fell off the counter, the clerk opened it and found the dog inside. | Source: kare11.com - Feb 14, 2011
Update posted on Feb 14, 2011 - 10:54PM |
Stacey Champion, 39, the woman accused of trying to send a puppy via priority mail from Minneapolis to Atlanta, lost custody of her dog at a City Hall hearing Monday.
The story has gained international attention, even apeparing in the London Times on Monday, and the reaction seems universal: "Why?"
Champion declined to answer any questions from members of the media, and instead saved them for the administrative hearing officer, who called described the act of trying to mail the dog as "disgraceful."
The city has been caring for the dog since Jan. 25 at its shelter and has received many adoption offers, but a Minnesota statute allows an appeal hearing after an animal has been impounded due to a cruelty investigation.
Champion, 39, appealed to regain custody of her 4-month-old poodle-schnauzer mix, named Guess. The appeal halted the move to put the dog up for adoption on Saturday.
The loss of custody isn't official until a resolution is reached in the animal cruelty case. Champion must file an appeal and injunction within the court system if she wants to block the adoption. She will also be required to cover the cost of continued care for the puppy -- roughly $15 per day -- until her Feb. 28 court date or else it will be put up for adoption.
The city's case was presented by Minneapolis animal control and the postal inspector. The custody hearing is separate from the criminal case involving animal cruelty charges against Champion.
Champion was charged with two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty after officials said she tried to mail the dog in a box with no air holes, water or food via the U.S. Postal Service, but the dog was found after the package moved unexpectedly and a postal worker heard panting inside.
During the hearing, Champion said she had poked air holes in the box and also put a bottle of water inside, though none was reported found. She also admitted to telling the post workers that there was a toy robot inside of the box.
Officials said the dog most likely would not have survived the journey.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Champion asked to have her box back, but was told it was still considered evidence.
Many people, including the postal clerk who discovered Guess, have expressed an interest in adopting the dog. If Champion does not post the required bond, the pup will be put up for adoption by lottery. | Source: myfoxtwincities.com - Feb 7, 2011
Update posted on Feb 7, 2011 - 9:05PM |
Stacey Champion has been charged with animal cruelty for trying to mail a puppy from Minneapolis to Georgia last week. But now she wants the dog back.
Sgt. Angela Dodge of the Minneapolis Police Department says Champion appealed the animal cruelty citation and will likely have a hearing Friday or Monday. The hearing will determine whether she can keep the puppy or if it will go up for adoption.
If she loses the appeal, there will likely be a long list of potential new homes for the dog, Dodge said. As has been the case with other celebrity animals, the calls are already coming into the Minneapolis 311 phone line asking if the puppy, named Guess, is available for adoption.
In cases like this, Dodge said, people line up the day of the adoption and animal shelter staff take down everyone's information.
"We draw names. It's that simple," Dodge said. "Whoever wins, wins."
Clerks became suspicious of the package Champion dropped off last week. They called postal inspectors, who opened the box and found the puppy.
The puppy's story is showing up on news websites across the country after the Star Tribune and several Twin Cities TV stations reported on it earlier this week. | Source: publicradio.org - Feb 3, 2011
Update posted on Feb 3, 2011 - 12:35PM |
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