Mauldin Woman Charged with Mistreating Puppy

A Mauldin woman who allegedly abandoned a puppy overnight on a stranger's porch during the area's recent ice storm faces charges of mistreating animals, according to Mauldin Police.

Karla N. Cuellar, 19, of 317 Elm Dr., was cited by police and faces a March 13 court date to face charges of ill-treatment of animals and abandonment of animals, a police department incident report said.

Cuellar allegedly left a boxer-mix puppy in a small box on a stranger's front porch on Salado Lane in Mauldin on the night of Jan. 25, when the area experienced intermittent sleet and freezing rain along with sub-freezing temperatures.

The puppy was discovered alive the following morning by the home's occupant still inside the box, which also contained old t-shirts and some dog food, the report said.

A Greer man who had adopted the dog and another on Jan. 9, said he had given the boxer puppy to Cuellar. When questioned by police, Cuellar said she had given the puppy to a friend about three weeks earlier, but could not provide the person's name or address.

"I confronted Ms. Cuellar with the fact the dog was adopted on 01/09/2013 which was not three weeks ago. She provided no response," an officer said in the report.

The man who originally adopted the puppy advised that he would take the puppy and return it to the adoption agency, the report said.