You can’t mail puppies across the country, post office tells man who boxed them up

Here’s a holiday travel tale with a twist: Workers at a Fresno post office foiled a man’s effort to box up and mail two puppies to North Carolina.

According to a report by Fresno TV station KMPH, the man brought in boxes marked “birds.” Workers checked the boxes and indeed found some feathered freight inside – along with the two pups. The dogs reportedly had no food or water.

Mailing warm-blooded animals such as dogs, cats and rabbits (even flying squirrels) is a violation of U.S. Postal Service regulations. Birds, bees and most small, cold-blooded animals are OK to ship.

The man paid about $100 to send the animals back East, then left the post office. After the puppies were discovered, the man was contacted. He returned and took the puppies. The incident is being investigated.

According to KMPH, the Postal Service released a statement:

“We take very seriously the humane treatment of animals. We are very proud of the actions of our retail associate and we urge all customers to please adhere to our mailing requirement standards and not intentionally deceive federal employees or potentially harm animals.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 2:10 PM with the headline "You can’t mail puppies across the country, post office tells man who boxed them up."