Teacher Gets Felony Charge for Lying About Puppy

In a bizarre turn of events, an Illinois community college adjunct professor who claimed to have found a puppy inside a pillowcase along the highway is now being charged with a felony, the Chicago Tribune reports. Earlier this month, 38-year-old Hope Sanchez brought the 3-week-old puppy to show her psychology class at McHenry County College. She allegedly told her students she found it in a pillowcase sealed with duct tape while riding her motorcycle on US Route 14 in Woodstock. According to CBS Chicago, a student contacted an animal shelter, which took the puppy. A police report regarding what was believed to be a case of animal abuse was filed; reports conflict as to whether the student or the shelter filed the report.

The puppy's rescue made the local news, which apparently caught the eye of two Woodstock residents—who informed police they gave the puppy to Sanchez as a gift. Police confronted Sanchez, who allegedly admitted to making up the story in the hope that someone would adopt the puppy. "It was her living arrangements—she has a partner that doesn't want any part of a dog, so she couldn't keep it," Woodstock Police Chief Robert Lowen said Friday. She's now been charged with felony disorderly conduct in connection with the filing of a false police report. Confused? So is Natalie Kawell, the aforementioned student. "I just don't know why she said that," she tells the Woodstock Independent. Sanchez has a May 12 court date, and the college says it has "initiated college procedures related to this personnel issue." (And speaking of dogs, you may not want to hug yours.)