April McLaughlin listens during an Oct. 11, 2023, hearing in which she petitioned to have 13 of the 55 dogs that were seized from her Phoenix-area home last month. (KSAZ/YouTube)
An Arizona judge denied the request from the owner of an animal rescue to have her dogs returned after they were found living in conditions the judge described as “deplorable,” including one dog who had back legs with “the muscles exposed, the tendons exposed, the bones exposed,” according to the Arizona Humane Society.
April McLaughlin, who ran the Special Needs Animal Welfare League rescue, was asking a judge during a court hearing Wednesday to have 13 of the 55 dogs seized from her home last month after they were found living in horrible conditions in her home in Chandler, around 20 miles southeast of Phoenix.
The Arizona Humane Society has been taking care of the dogs since the Sept. 22 seizure and has requested that the judge keep the dogs in the organization’s care.
A Chandler police sergeant who responded to the scene described the conditions she felt when she walked into the home.
“My eyes immediately began to water, the back of my throat started to burn. It was very difficult to breathe,” testified Sgt. Nicole Vasey, according to local NBC affiliate KPNX. “It was very difficult to breathe.”
According to an arrest affidavit, a criminal investigation began after other animal rescue groups had become concerned because McLaughlin hadn’t responded to their messages. AHS responded to the home on Sept. 9 and investigators noticed the strong odor of feces and urine coming from the home and a large cluster of flies near the front door. One of the dogs of the original complainant look much skinner than he did before.
Another dog was dragging itself on its hind legs, while a third had trouble vocalizing. AHS also noticed about 25-30 dogs inside the 956-square-foot home, some of whom needed veterinary care. None of them had water or food, the affidavit said.
The Chandler Police Department obtained a search warrant on Sept. 22. When police raided the home, they were met with the foul odor of feces and urine. The home was in such bad condition it had to be condemned, a probable cause arrest affidavit said. The ammonia levels were deemed too high to inhale so officials had to wear special equipment during the raid.
Five dead dogs were found in freezer, according to investigators.
Police arrested McLaughlin on 55 counts each of animal abuse and cruelty of animals, both misdemeanors. She also faced a felony charge of vulnerable elder abuse when her 79-year-old mother was living in the home without enough food and no working toilet or mode of communication.
But the Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute and sent the case back to the Chandler Police Department for further investigation. McLaughlin is not facing any charges at this time.
Ruthie Jesus, field operations manager for AHS, testified Wednesday that many of the dogs “had the strong smell of infection.”
“Additionally, when we were in the hospital I observed a black and white miniature pinscher type of dog with multiple open wounds on both back legs with the muscles exposed, the tendons exposed, the bones exposed.”
McLaughlin was initially requesting 47 of the surviving dogs be returned to her care but changed that to 13, describing them as family dogs.
“So the reason that I continue on is for the dogs,” said McLaughlin, who became emotional when speaking to the judge while representing herself at the hearing. “And the safety, I mean they’re family members but they also provide a lot of safety and security for myself in my home.”
But Chandler Municipal Judge Michelle Lue Sang disagreed. The judge told McLaughlin that she may have thought she was taking good care of the dogs, but she was not. No animals should live in that condition, she said.
“The pictures speak for themselves,” the judge said, according to local Fox affiliate KSAZ. “These animals were not being taken car for. They lived in deplorable conditions.”
The judge ruled that 34 of the dogs will go back to their original owners while the 13 McLaughlin requested will remain in the Humane Society’s care. McLaughlin has two weeks to appeal.
The Humane Society said in a statement after the hearing that it was “beyond thrilled” about the judge’s decision.
“While our team sees hundreds of cases a year, this has been an emotionally charged, heart-wrenching case with many moving parts. It motivated the rescue and animal welfare communities to act and, subsequently, challenged us all to wait as the legal process has unfolded,” the statement said. “Our goal from the beginning was to provide these pets with a safe and loving environment until they could be reunited with their former owners and rescue groups and we are relieved to be one step closer in reaching that goal.”
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