VICTORIA (CP) - A dead golden retriever named Gregg mysteriously ended up on the federal Liberal party membership list, entitling the pooch to a Christmas card from Prime Minister Paul Martin and invitations to party functions, the dog's owner said Friday.

The Christmas card from Paul Martin came two years ago as did invitations to at least three liberal party functions in the Victoria area, including one nomination meeting, said the dead dog's 81-year-old owner.

The Liberal party cards and letters were addressed to Gregg Buchanan, but the only Gregg who ever lived at that address was a dog who died five years ago, the dog's confused owner said.

"At the time I was baffled by the whole thing," said the man who didn't want to be identified. "I just thought they made a mistake somewhere."

The dog received two invitations from B.C.'s young liberals to attend meetings at the University of Victoria, he said.

The man said he is not a member of any political party. He said he decided to make his dog's political status public after speculation about Liberal party memberships began swirling after recent raids on the offices of two provincial Liberal ministerial aides.

Liberal party officials in Vancouver could not be reached for comment about the dog.  

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio (AP) - A woman who claimed to have lost a lottery ticket worth $162 million was charged Friday with filing a false police report.

The charges came a day after 40-year-old Elecia Battle all but admitted making up the story. The misdemeanor charge carries 30 days to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Police Lieut. Kevin Nietert said police pursued the charge because protecting the lottery's integrity is important. "I think the general public that's been reviewing this wants to know that the police department is going to do something about this," he said.

Days after the Dec. 30 Mega Millions drawing, Battle filed a police report saying she had bought the winning ticket but had lost it, possibly when she dropped her purse outside the convenience store.

Then, when Rebecca Jemison, 34, came forward with the winning numbers and was declared the winner of the jackpot, Battle sued.

On Thursday, however, Battle dropped her lawsuit and apologized to her husband, Jemison and her lawyer.