Yes, I re-read the old news. She did not tell the truth.
However, it’s possible she simply wanted an easy, cheap way to send (to whom? anyone ever ask?) the dog and may’ve been dumb enough not to realize what may happen.
Lied or not, I really don’t know that she intended to be cruel to the dog. There are much simpler ways than taking the effort to mail it and paying for it.
I’m sure she did think that mailing the dog that way was more convenient for her. However, she was also apparently aware that one could not mail animals in that manner, hence, the lie.