"I'm just dumbfounded," dog owner Valerie Collins said. "I couldn't even speak. None of us could speak we were so upset."
Collins owned two of the more than 20 dogs found dead at the facility last June.
"I have two little boys," Collins said. "They still ask every day, 'Where are my dogs?'"
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery dismissed the charges without prejudice against the facility's owners Jesse and Maleisa Hughes, and the caretakers, Sen. Jeff Flake's son Austin Flake and his wife Morgan.
Montgomery feared the grand jury was possibly misled because the case presented to them left out issues with an air-conditioning unit.
Montgomery plans to continue the investigation before deciding whether to refile the charges.
"Why is the county attorney just now finding deficiencies in the grand jury proceedings?" said John Schill, the dog owners' attorney. "Why did he not know this prior to the filing of defense council?"
Dog Owner Shannon Gillette said regardless of the official cause of death, the dogs were neglected and treated cruelly.
"Our dogs did not die because of an AC failure. Our dogs died because the caretakers involved stuffed 28 dogs into a sealed-off 9-by-12 room," Gillette said.
Dog owner Jacqueline Heath alleges the Flake's political pull may have played a role in the dismissal.
"Politics could have had a play in this, and you know, I wouldn't be surprised," Heath said.
Flake's attorney Jack Wilencheck declined to comment about the allegations.
A spokesperson for Montgomery also declined to comment.
Schill says they plan to meet with Montgomery Jan. 9.
Dog owner Jacqueline Heath alleges the Flake's political pull may have played a role in the dismissal.
"Politics could have had a play in this, and you know, I wouldn't be surprised," Heath said.
Flake's attorney Jack Wilencheck declined to comment about the allegations.
A spokesperson for Montgomery also declined to comment.
Schill says they plan to meet with Montgomery Jan. 9.
(KPHO - Dec 24, 2014)
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