April McLaughlin speaks to an officer during a welfare check for her 79-year-old mother Kathleen McLaughlin on June 30, 2023, in Chandler, Arizona. (KSAZ/YouTube)
Body camera footage shows police in Arizona conducting a welfare check on a 79-year-old woman nearly three months before a raid at the home revealed that the woman and 55 dogs were living in horrid conditions, which led to the arrest of the woman’s daughter on elder and animal abuse charges.
Local Fox affiliate KSAZ obtained the body camera footage of a Chandler Police officer’s June 30 welfare check on Kathleen McLaughlin at the home outside of Phoenix. The check occurred because McLaughlin alerted staff at a library that she was being mistreated. Library staff in turn called Adult Protective Services which contacted police.
Her daughter April McLaughlin, who ran an animal shelter for special-needs dogs, was arrested Sept. 22 on a felony elder abuse charge along with 55 counts each of animal abuse and cruelty of animals, both misdemeanors. But the Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute and sent the case back to the Chandler Police Department for further investigation. April McLaughlin is not facing any charges at this time.
The body camera footage shows the officer approach April McLaughlin as she’s arriving home in her car. She said she was just coming back from the vet’s office to care for a special-needs dog. She asks what the officer wants and he informs her he is doing a welfare check on her mother.
April McLaughlin tells the officer she has full power of attorney for her mother’s financial and medical decisions. The officer asks for the paperwork that shows that, but April McLaughlin says she will give it at a later date because she doesn’t know where it is.
“She has dementia. That’s why she’s here,” April McLaughlin tells the officer. “We can’t afford to put her in a home. She can dress herself, feed herself, all that stuff.”
April McLaughlin says her mother got scammed a few years ago so she and other family members thought it would be best if she took control of her mom’s finances.
The officer asks to talk with Kathleen McLaughlin, who comes out to speak with him. She explains she had a stroke a few years ago and she had to re-learn how to talk. The elder McLaughlin, who’s face is blurred out, said they are looking for another place for her to live.
“Because she’s got so many dogs,” Kathleen McLaughlin says when he asks why.
The officer asks if she had any concerns about living at the home and she says she does not. The officer then leaves the home without going inside and the investigation is closed.
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Kathleen McLaughlin later said in an interview with KSAZ that she told the officer that she was OK living there because she had no place else to go.
As Law&Crime previously reported, a criminal investigation began in early September after other animal rescue groups had become concerned because April 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. The Arizona Humane Society 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, a probable cause 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, the affidavit said. The ammonia levels were deemed too high to inhale so officials had to wear special equipment during the raid.
They found 55 dogs living in squalor and five dead puppies in the freezer, according to investigators.
Kathleen McLaughlin told KSAZ she had to go to the bathroom in the shower or outside because the home had no working toilet and was forced to sleep on a small portion of the couch because all the dogs took up the bedrooms at the 956-square-foot home.
“The two bedrooms were full of dogs, so we weren’t able to sleep there. She had some in the backyard, and she bought tents for shade, and it became obvious that the terrific heat wave wasn’t conducive to their comfort, so she’d have to bring them into the garage,” she said.
Last week a judge denied April McLaughlin’s request to have 13 of the 55 dogs returned to her, saying they were found in “deplorable” conditions. An Arizona Humane Society worker testified she saw one dog who had back legs with “the muscles exposed, the tendons exposed, the bones exposed.”
The judge said 34 of the surviving dogs could go back to their original owners. AHS will take care of the other 13 as April McLaughlin appeals the judge’s decision.
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