Now I've Heard Everything

Over the 26 years Bill and I have been in business, we've mailed a lot of different things. There was the time we mailed helium balloons (inflated and inserted in a box so they would float out when the recipient opened it), chocolate bars (a tough job to stay away from), and countless amounts of confetti. But this item takes the cake. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune comes this story:

Stacey Champion of Minnesota brought a box to her local post office, asking to mail it to Georgia. She warned postal workers to be careful, but assured them that she was shipping a toy robot.

When the box began to move and make noise, postal workers got suspicious and opened it. Inside was a four-month-old Poodle-Schnauzer mix. After placing the pup in a city kennel, the USPS turned the matter over to the police, who charged Champion with animal cruelty.

According to a police spokeswoman, the puppy "was supposed to be a birthday gift for a family member." Noting that the pup could not have survived the trip, she added, "it would have been kind of traumatizing to get a dead puppy."

After being charged with animal cruelty, Champion demanded a refund of the $22 priority mail fee she had paid, claiming the package had never been delivered.

The USPS denied her request.