MINNEAPOLIS — The case has been dismissed against a woman who tried to mail a puppy from Minneapolis to Georgia.

Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter ruled Wednesday in favor of 40-year-old Stacey Champion of Minneapolis, citing “mental deficiency.”

Champion had been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty for putting a 4-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. But postal workers discovered the puppy, named Guess, after the box fell off the counter.

Champion tried to get the dog back but was turned down. The dog eventually was adopted by a Minneapolis woman picked in a drawing.

A civil commitment case has begun involving Champion. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday.