Woman sentenced for drowning puppy in airport toilet

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- A Florida woman has been given two years of probation for drowning a 3-week-old puppy in a Nebraska airport toilet.

Cynthia Anderson, of Edgewater, Florida, was sentenced Thursday in Hall County District Court in Grand Island. She pleaded no contest in May to cruelly neglecting an animal, resulting in its death. A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing.

During Thursday's hearing, the 57-year-old Anderson apologized for her actions and pleaded for mercy and probation.

Along with the probation sentencing, Anderson also cannot own or be around animals for five years, CBS affiliate KOLN reported.

Anderson was barred from boarding a Jan. 23 flight at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport because the puppy was so young and wasn't properly contained.

Authorities say she then was seen entering the restroom. Another woman soon reported finding the Doberman puppy dead in a toilet.