Death of 21 dogs crammed into one un-air-conditioned room at Phoenix-area kennel investigated

ARIZONA -- Court documents released Wednesday give new details in the investigation into the deaths of 21 dogs at a kennel in the Phoenix area.

The owners of Green Acre in Gilbert said the dogs died in June from heat exhaustion after caregivers left for the night.

There was no evidence a dog chewed through a wire that cut the air conditioning in the kennel.

The files include information from the dogs’ owners. Some said they weren’t told the boarding home facility would be out of town or that their dogs would be put in a single room.

They said they were told excuses of why their dogs died, from running away to the A/C being cut off because a dog chewed through a wire.

 

 

Based on the investigation, one vet says they likely died of suffocation because of limited ventilation and the 21 dogs were in a room that was nine feet by 12 feet.

One boarding facility owner told a couple that was in Tucson that one dog was "a digger," so their dogs escaped and that they were searching for them.

That couple made it back to Phoenix and searched for about four hours. When they went back to Green Acre, deputies were on scene as well as other dog owners looking for their dogs.

One of their dogs ended up being dead in the back shed. Two weeks later, they found out the other one had been hit by a car.

No arrests have been made in the case so far. Suspects are: Jesse To Hughes, his wife Malesia Maurine Hughes, Logan Laine Flake (their daughter) and Austin Lane Flake.

Your head is going to explode when you read the documents related to the case.

(Tucson News Now - Jul 17, 2014)

Earlier:

• Families looking for answers after dogs die at Gilbert boarding facility

Calgary show dog breeder faces 51 animal neglect charges

CANADA -- A Calgary woman well-known in show-dog circles has been charged with 51 counts of causing or permitting an animal to be in distress following the seizure of 34 dogs from her southeast home in mid-May.

The charges against Beverly Jean Creed stem from allegations she kept the dogs in unsanitary conditions and also relate to 17 dogs that veterinarians say were in “medical distress,” said the Calgary Humane Society.

 

Brad Nichols, manager of cruelty investigations with the humane society, said dog seizures of this size and involving someone in the industry are rare.

“It’s not often we’re seizing 30-plus dogs,” Nichols said, adding it was unusual for Creed — a respected member of the show-dog and dog breeding community — to let animal care drop off so drastically.

Some of those animals were returned to co-owners after they paid fees associated with the removal and care of the dogs, Nichols said.

“It’s fairly common to have co-ownership type agreements and show other people’s dogs, take them through various types of competition,” Nichols said.

Others are slowly recovering from surgery and treatment for dental abscesses, fractured bones, skin infections and eye problems, and are making their way to the adoption centre, he said, adding some have already been adopted by new families.

 

 

Unfortunately, two dogs had to be euthanized due to age and medical reasons.

None of the animals was returned to Creed.

The dogs were seized on May 13 from an Acadia home in the 8500 block of Addison Drive S.E.

A man delivering a notice to the residence expressed concerns about the welfare of the animals and a strong smell emanating from the property. He alerted a neighbor, who called 911 after entering the home and finding feces and urine throughout, as well as ripped furniture and numerous dogs in distress.

Peace officers, police officers and firefighters attended the scene, removing dogs of varying sizes and breeds. Most required extensive veterinary care and were taken to the humane society to have vaccines and health checks.

The house was deemed to be unfit for human habitation.

Creed could not be reached for comment Thursday. But her friends had previously said she was facing difficulties in her life caring for her elderly mother at the time the dogs were seized.

Creed had also told CTV News that the dogs had clean beds and good food.


She is expected to appear in court on Aug. 27.

Nichols said each charge comes with a maximum fine of $20,000, but they are rarely — if ever — handed down. Creed could also face an animal prohibition.

Nichols pointed to a similar case of 34 dogs, most of them pit bulls, seized from a Martindale home in April 2011, which netted the owner a $5,000 fine and a lifetime three-animal limit.

(Calgary Herald - July 3, 2014)

Earlier:

• Seizing dogs from Acadia house unjustified, owner's friend says