'I was outraged': Animal mailed to postal office in cardboard carrier
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SEATTLE -- Trapped in a tiny box, a live animal spent as much as two days without food or water when someone mailed it to a local post office.
It startled postal customers who were appalled that anyone could do that.
A witness told KOMO News he saw someone pickup the animal in a cardboard pet carrier on Thursday. The container is meant to transport a small animal very short distances; animal advocates say it is not meant to house any animal for days.
"I was outraged," said Michelle Weber, "just outraged."
Weber was so upset by what her friend told her that she immediately contacted the KOMO 4 Problem Solvers. Weber's friend did not wish to be identified, but agreed to share what he saw.
"They said, 'It's been sitting here for two days. We've been trying to get a hold of you,'" the witness said. "I distinctly remember them saying that."
The witness said another postal customer complained that the animal had been left for two days without food or water, and called it abuse. He added he was sure the animal, which was in a plain unmarked cardboard box, is a dog.
"My impression this entire time was yes, that it was a dog," he said.
The post office said its policy doesn't allow mailing dogs or cats. The clerks said they are convinced that the animal inside the box was a rooster, which is legal to put in the mail with special handling. The clerks believe the animal had been mailed the day before.
KOMO News asked for verification, but the post office could not locate the shipping information.
The witness said he has kept both roosters and dogs, and he does not think what was in the box yesterday was a rooster.
"It didn't sound like a rooster," he said. "In my opinion, it would have made a lot more noise if it was a rooster. It would have been pretty obvious if it was."
The Seattle Humane Society said no matter what kind of animal it is, keeping it in a box for two days or more is not humane.
"I've never heard of someone just putting an animal in a box -- dog, cat or otherwise, and just licking a stamp and hoping they're going to safely get to where they belong," said Seattle Humane Society CEO David Loewe.
"If you're not providing food and water, any kind of problem becomes magnified and all of a sudden what's coming out of the box is in much, much worse shape than how it went in," said Dr. Brad Crauer, a Seattle Humane Society veterinarian.
Even if it was a bird that had been mailed, both the Seattle Humane Society and the witness hope there is an investigation.
It startled postal customers who were appalled that anyone could do that.
A witness told KOMO News he saw someone pickup the animal in a cardboard pet carrier on Thursday. The container is meant to transport a small animal very short distances; animal advocates say it is not meant to house any animal for days.
"I was outraged," said Michelle Weber, "just outraged."
Weber was so upset by what her friend told her that she immediately contacted the KOMO 4 Problem Solvers. Weber's friend did not wish to be identified, but agreed to share what he saw.
"They said, 'It's been sitting here for two days. We've been trying to get a hold of you,'" the witness said. "I distinctly remember them saying that."
The witness said another postal customer complained that the animal had been left for two days without food or water, and called it abuse. He added he was sure the animal, which was in a plain unmarked cardboard box, is a dog.
"My impression this entire time was yes, that it was a dog," he said.
The post office said its policy doesn't allow mailing dogs or cats. The clerks said they are convinced that the animal inside the box was a rooster, which is legal to put in the mail with special handling. The clerks believe the animal had been mailed the day before.
KOMO News asked for verification, but the post office could not locate the shipping information.
The witness said he has kept both roosters and dogs, and he does not think what was in the box yesterday was a rooster.
"It didn't sound like a rooster," he said. "In my opinion, it would have made a lot more noise if it was a rooster. It would have been pretty obvious if it was."
The Seattle Humane Society said no matter what kind of animal it is, keeping it in a box for two days or more is not humane.
"I've never heard of someone just putting an animal in a box -- dog, cat or otherwise, and just licking a stamp and hoping they're going to safely get to where they belong," said Seattle Humane Society CEO David Loewe.
"If you're not providing food and water, any kind of problem becomes magnified and all of a sudden what's coming out of the box is in much, much worse shape than how it went in," said Dr. Brad Crauer, a Seattle Humane Society veterinarian.
Even if it was a bird that had been mailed, both the Seattle Humane Society and the witness hope there is an investigation.
Why didn't the original post office or mail sort facility refuse to forward the box? Why didn't the post office where the animal sat for 2 days call the Humane Society or notify Animal Control? Was the animal truly left for 2 days at the post office as the witness stated or was it overnighted like the post office clerks said?I hope there is an investigation into this. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that anyone would ship a live animal by USPS.
I ship birds all the time from Oregon to as far away as Florida, Food and Apples/Oranges are provided for moisture the birds are all FINE when they get to where they are going ... no harm done what so ever ...
@Kellie Duyck Agreed, I used to ship bids from Washington to as far away as Miami frequently. Never lost one and it's super common.
Cool. Didn't know you could mail roosters! Where can I find someone to mail me a rooster? I'd like to mail one to all my friends.Â
This sort of thing is the fault of pet owners, especially dog owners, who perpetuate the profit motive through their "love" of animals. Of course if you treat living things like commodities, and trinkets, and accessories, there will be abuse.
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Not to mention that if you go to many other states you can walk into a pet store and buy a dog in your own town. Of course in Washington that has been deemed cruelty, so what do you expect?
 @antiseattle pay attention - USPS prohibits the mailing of dogs and cats.
@FairyChickenLady Sure it prohibits the mailing of dogs or cats however do you know for sure that it wasn't a dog in the carrier?
This whole story is the result of an ignorant busy body whining on a slow news day.
Oy vey people. Â This happens ALL Â the time. Â Serama chickens and other small breeds are constantly shipped as as day old live chicks. Â
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Heck, any Draper chicken that you buy at the grocery store is shipped as a day old chick in less humane conditions than the 2 chickens I had shipped from South Carolina to Seattle, WA. Â My chickens were shipped in a box with food and watermelon. Â They were overnighted and arrived at my doorstep 32 hours after being dropped off at the post office. Â
 @FairyChickenLady Used to drive for Draper. I agree. You can see how the chickens are run in open containers up and down I-5 all the time in the winter. If you ever went to Drapers processing center in Sedro Wooley you'd never eat chicken again.lol Just the nature of having too many hungry mouths to feed, corners have to be cut.
Why are animals allowed to be mailed at all? It seems a bit cruel and unsanitary.
 @SouthofSeattle It's a traditional service of USPS and been going on for more than 75 years.
People are way too sensitive today ! This is nothing new !
 @scychan how about we pack you up and drop you off at the post office? Is that sensitive enough for you? Nothing living should be mailed....PERIOD.
 @donner  @scychanWorms?Â
 @codetalker  @donner  @scychan it's not polite to ask someone if they have worms ; )
A rooster would have made more noise? No... I have chicken and a rooster and I don't buy that. While my coop/chicken yard were under construction I kept the birds in the house at night and moved them each day in a cardboard box from the house to the yard and back. Birds can be very noisy, but the second you put them in a box and close the lid, they shut up. When it's dark they generally don't make any noise, especially if there are no other birds with them. Also, as many poster have already pointed out, chickens are shipped all the time. A lot of people buy chicks through the mail.
I'm guessing it was a chicken or some sort of bird in that box based off the type of box. Â My dad used to order ornamental chickens for our backyard from the internet from various breeders since he liked breeds that weren't local. Â This box looks exactly the same as the ones that we always used to get when we would go pick them up at the Post Office. Â It's been several years since he's ordered any more but in probably the two hundred chickens (adults/babies) that we got in the mail, none of them died during shipping and all came in good health.
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 @Fantastico Yes, but I'd bet your dad didn't leave them at the post office for two days after they arrived.
Honey Boo Boo child, did y'all mail the cat to granma like momma asked ya to?
 @vanceox I don't find animal abuse even remotely funny, but this image made me snort coffee through my nose from laughing. :^D
Why didn't someone at the post office take care of the dog (or whatever)?
 @TskSeattle I'm fairly certain there are exceptions to any law where a live creature may be suffering and/or at risk of dying.
And even if there aren't any specified, what jury is going to convict someone for rescuing an animal from an unsafe situation, or any situation where an animal is suffering?
@MargeGunderson @TskSeattle There are no exceptions when it comes to the mail. It's a serious offense if a postal clerk tampers with the mail for any reason.
@Tattooed_Angel I understand your frustration, but there again NOBODY is allowed to open a parcel that doesn't belong to them. The postal clerk would have needed to call the police because if the parcel needed to be opened it would become a legal issue and no doubt without the order from a judge I don't think even the police could open it. I can sympathize with your point of view but it is a federal offense to tamper with anyone's mail.
@Jatok They could have called the Humane Society or Animal Control though and they didn't.
 @TskSeattle It's a federal crime to tamper with mail that isn't from or addressed to you - even if you're a postal worker. So, unless the postal workers wanted to go to federal prison they were helpless to do anything.
I bet it's Schrodinger's cat.
 @rapper Wow. Clever.
@rapper Sheldon referenced Schrodinger's cat on The Big Bang Theory....
 @rapper Well lucky for the sender then they have a 50% chance of the cat being totally fine and no charges being filed.
 @rapper Ahhh..unlike most viewers, I get the reference. And no, it's not a Charlie Brown reference either. :)
 @BlueJedi  @rapper You think rather highly of yourself, don't you? I know a ton of people who know that reference.
I don't think I can ever get an answer when I ask the question; Why?
 @Zoso You could probably get an answer to the "WHY??!!?" question in just about any situation, maybe even an honest one every so often.Â
Getting a logical one, where you would think, "Oh, ok, now I get it; that does make perfect sense!" is about as likely as winning the Powerball lottery â without buying a ticket.Â
Plus the Reason Why KOMO won't follow up on it and the reason why the friend who witnessed won't come forward is that these Worker Bees(Employees) WILL CREATE a Reputation for the Person(s) standing in the way of their next Cheap Dollar Made. I know this to be true and I just can't believe it EVERY TIME it happens to me! I can't even get a Job Anymore because they KNOW I am THIS TYPE OF PERSON! LOL!!!!!!!!
So what is it already?
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This is why we made sure each of our kids had a "see and say".
 @Insomniac Dreams OK, now you have me picturing that thing with a little cardboard box for each one, with the animal's head poking out the top.
Once you master that, you get the advanced version, where all you have to match the sound with is the little nose (or beak) poking out of one of the breathing holes.Â
 @MargeGunderson  The thing I was thinking of, the kid pointed a big arrow at a picture of an animal, pulled a big lever, and it would say something like "The cow says moooo". Yours sound like more fun.
 @Insomniac Dreams That's what I was thinking of, only with the boxes showing at each image instead of the whole animal! Â
To make it even more fun, a terrified, agonized, screaming yelp could come out at random intervals when you pull the cord. :^D Â
If they mailed it through the post office, I'm thinking it was probably a sloth.
Calm down, people. I worked in a rural post office for 5 years, and we received live animals sometimes several times a week. They must be sent Express mail, and they receive VERY special handling. The clerks will call the recipient first thing, even 5am, because they want them gone and taken care of. At our post office, when a person did not come in the first day, the clerks would check on the welfare of the (usually) birds. Postal employees are just normal people, like most of you.
 @Marcia When I lived in WA we would get chicks in the mail- I remember my Mom being sure that there was always someone sitting by the phone (no cell phones then!) so we could go pick them up as soon as they got in.  The postal workers were always really nice about it and this was in Tacoma.  Live animals in the mail are not unusual.  I just wonder why the person was not more careful about being reachable if they knew they were expecting a shipment of live animals?
@Marcia lets see what I have had mailed to me 30 baby chicks, 100 pounds of live honey bees not a big deal.
How convenient that the postal service doesn't have ANY shipping information about this case.Â
 @PrairieDawn Shipping information would be the tracking numbers on the actual box, which would go with the box when it is picked up.
 @Marcia  @PrairieDawn Well unless they get frequent shipments of this nature that sit around for two days I would think they could actually remember who the sender and recipient are.
My concern would be that someone claimed this package. And why didn't someone take the initiative to care for the contents while in holding? I once had to leave my small dog at a small airport in an emergency in 1973. She was put in a carrier, sent on her way, fed, and we were notified when she arrived at her destination. There was even an envelope on the top of her carrier with our change in it. What has happened to society that even the smallest of lives are ignored.
what kind of freaking moron mails live animals anyway? The moron should be locked ina box and mailed to China with USPS without food and water or air
 @Larry*X*K Dog breeders, chicken breeders, cat breeders, exotic animal breeders, people who sell to pet stores, lots of people that most likely aren't morons. Â
 @Fantastico  @Larry*X*K Who says all those breeders aren't likely morons?
@Fantastico
Breeders use something like this
http://www.ipata.org/
professional animal transportation.
It takes a bloody moron to stick a live animal in a cardboard box and mail it with the USPS which probably the absolute worst choice to ship anything
 @Larry*X*K The same kind of moron that straps a family pet to the roof of a car and goes for a ride.