Many of you have been following the saga of the Minnesota woman who was charged with animal cruelty after trying to ship a four-month old poodle-schnauzer mix puppy to Atlanta via air mail. The latest update: Officials in Minneapolis have shot down her appeal to get the puppy back.

“I did my best with the procedures and everything,” she explained at the hearing. She also said that because the dog, which was intended as a gift for her son, never reached its destination, “I was deprived of my son not receiving his gift for his birthday.”

Believe it or not, that argument didn’t draw tears from anyone else at the hearing, where the administrator listening to the appeal called the woman “disgraceful.”

The woman had claimed that she had poked air holes in the puppy’s box and that there were water bottles inside. But USPS inspectors say those air holes were taped over and there was no food or water inside the box.

Technically, this woman is still the owner of the dog, which is being cared for at the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control shelter. The city’s animal control dept. say the owner will be asked to post a bond to cover the cost of care. If she pays the bond, it will remain there until the outcome of her hearing on the animal cruelty misdemeanor. If she does not pay the bond within five days, the puppy will go up for adoption.

Police say they receive “several inquiries each day” about adopting the dog, so there should be no problem in finding a new home for him.

Woman who put live puppy in mail loses bid to reclaim animal [StarTribune.com]

Thanks to Burrrr for the tip!

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