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Judge dismisses case of puppy in the mail

Woman who tried to mail dog to her son in Georgia was determined to have a "mental deficiency."

March 9, 2012 at 3:35PM
Stacey Champion, the woman accused of attempting to mail a puppy to her son in Atlanta, will go to trial July 7 for animal cruelty charges, said her attorney, public defender Steve Simon. Stacey Champion testified during a hearing where she was trying get her puppy back after trying to shipped it threw the mail to her son in Atlanta GA. She was holding the box that she tried to ship the pupppy in.
Stacey Champion, with the box she tried to mail the puppy in. (Dml - Dml - Star Tribune Star T/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The 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.

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 the counter.

That intervention kept the dog from being flown in the airliner's unheated and unpressurized cargo area, a trip that would almost certainly have been fatal.

Champion attended an administrative hearing with 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.

"Ms. Champion appeared in mental health court Wednesday, and the court ruled that she was incompetent to stand trial," city spokesman Matt Lindstrom said in a statement. "Because of that ruling, the law requires that the charges be dropped." The Hennepin County attorney's office will be evaluating the next steps, Lindstrom said.

Terri Ford of Minneapolis, Minnesota, won a drawing for Guess at the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control on Friday, February 18, 2011. The 5-month-old Schnauzer-poodle mix dog was discovered about three weeks ago by Postal workers.
Terri Ford of Minneapolis won a drawing for Guess at the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control in February 2011. (Mct/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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Paul Walsh

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Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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