Police investigating alleged animal abuse at Chandler rescue after social media outrage
CHANDLER, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — A Chandler rescue is being investigated for potential animal abuse. “We drove 18 hours to Phoenix to try and rescue our dogs back two weeks ago,” said Becca Arimendi, a Yaqui Animal Rescue Board Member. Arimendi is with an animal rescue in south Texas.
This year, they came across a paralyzed dog called Butters, who was shot in the back. These dogs require special attention, so they started looking for a rescue elsewhere to get Butters proper care. They eventually came across the Special Needs Animal Welfare League in Chandler, which offered to take Butters and another dog.
The Texas rescue agreed earlier this year, but then recent pictures of the dog looking thin made the rescue concerned for Butter’s wellbeing. They followed their gut feeling and came to Chandler to see for themselves. That’s where they said they found dozens of dogs living in a Chandler home. “When we knocked on her door, you could hear just the dogs barking and screaming. It was terrible, probably one of the most terrible things I ever heard,” said Arimendi.
They turned to Chandler police and posted pictures and videos of what they found on social media. Arizona’s Family decided to check it out. After reaching out online, the Chandler rescue direct messaged a reporter who left a cellphone number. Shortly after, they got a phone call from a person who claimed to be with the Chandler rescue. They told our reporter they denied the allegations and wanted to share their side of the story but needed to make some calls first. After no response sometime later, we sent a crew to the property associated with the rescue. It was a home in a Chandler neighborhood. When they got there, police were at the house talking to a person but wouldn’t say why. After they left, our crew approached the property and were met with a sharp, putrid odor. This is something the one neighbor, who wished to stay anonymous, said they’ve been smelling for weeks. “It smells like dead animals and there are flies in my front yard, in my house, in my back yard. It’s ridiculous and the dogs bark 24-7,” said this neighbor.
The person with the rescue didn’t want to speak on camera but continued to tell our crew the allegations were untrue. They also would not let them see the living conditions. Instead, they said they would show our crews another time.
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