Minneapolis police said a woman who allegedly tried to send a puppy through the mail has been charged with animal cruelty.

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Police Sgt. Angela Dodge said Stacey Champion, 39, took a box with a priority sticker Tuesday to the Loring Post Office and workers didn't realize there was a living animal in the box until the dog later moved inside the box and it fell from the counter, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, reported Wednesday.

"Apparently the puppy must have moved at that time and the box had shaken and fallen. At that point, the clerk and supervisor could hear a sound like panting coming from inside the box," said Pete Nowacki with the U.S. Postal Service.

"The notion of putting a puppy in a box, putting them on a plane with no food, no water, no place to do their business, it's not going to work," Nowacki said.

Champion was charged with animal cruelty and the puppy, a poodle mix, is doing well in the care of animal control, police said.