18 dogs seized from Gilbert home under animal cruelty investigation
GILBERT, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- Nearly 20 dogs were taken on Wednesday from a Gilbert home and now an animal cruelty investigation is underway. Animal rescue advocates say the woman who lives there is a dog breeder and they claim her dogs are being neglected.
Authorities say it started on Sept. 13, when Gilbert police were called to the house near Ray and Lindsay roads for reports of a possible animal problem. Officers discovered the tenants were in the process of moving. Police were reportedly told the animals were no longer there because they were rehomed.
However, on Saturday, officers were called to the same home and found multiple dogs that were sick. The Arizona Humane Society was immediately notified of the animals’ conditions. AHS confirmed to Arizona’s Family that 18 dogs were seized, with Gilbert police taking three of them to a veterinarian. Gary Humbert was there that day and volunteered with a dog rescue ready to take the animals in. “There were so many dogs it was like a cattle herd. I mean, you couldn’t walk,” he said.
Andria Andrews, with Arf-Anage Dog Rescue based in Maricopa, said she learned about the Gilbert breeder in February. “I saw some post for some 10- to 12-month-old Labradoodles needing placement. She was selling them for $100 and others she was giving away for free,” she said. Since then, she claims her rescue and others have taken in about 400 dogs from the Gilbert home, many of them needing all kinds of care, including one dog losing her hair. “This is from overbreeding. We took her to our vet and he did blood work on her and said he did not want to have her spayed for two months,” Andrews said. “The smell that came from the dog itself was horrific. It took many, many, many baths and scrub down to smell like a normal dog.”
A notice outside the home claims the Gilbert woman renting the home abandoned the animals inside. She spoke to Arizona’s Family about the allegations. She said she was evicted. “They told me to get off the property and I could not take them and now they are removed,” she said. When asked about how many dogs she had, she refused to answer. “Why would it matter how many I have?” she asked. Arizona’s Family is not identifying her since she hasn’t been charged with a crime. Police will determine if recommended charges will be sent to the prosecutors. The investigation is ongoing.
Just miles away, a woman was charged with animal abuse after investigators say they found frozen dead dogs in her Chandler home last week. 55 dogs were rescued from April McLaughlin’s house near Pecos and Cooper roads. Authorities later confirmed five dogs had to be put down. McLaughlin faces 110 misdemeanors, two counts for each animal abuse accusations: one for cruel/neglect and abandonment; and a second count for failure to provide medical treatment.
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