THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Chandler girl who ran an animal rescue out of her now-condemned home had 5 useless puppies in her freezer along with dozens of abused dogs that have been present in her home, police stated.
April McLaughlin, 48, was taken into custody Sept. 22 after a search warrant was executed on the home close to Cooper and Pecos roads.
The search adopted a number of calls and studies from involved neighbors about smells coming from the home and hoarding situations, police stated.
Authorities stated a lot of the 55 dogs faraway from the home have been aged and special-needs animals. They have been with out water, and plenty of will seemingly should be euthanized.
The air high quality within the home was so unhealthy that firefighters needed to put on particular respiratory gear. The home is now condemned, in keeping with authorities.
McLaughlin was booked into jail on 55 counts of animal abuse, 55 counts of animal cruelty and one depend of weak grownup abuse as a result of her aged mom additionally lived within the home.
According to court docket paperwork, McLaughlin instructed police she didn’t imagine there was something mistaken with storing meals subsequent to the useless animals within the freezer.
She additionally stated she had been operating the rescue for a yr and had taken on too many dogs.
A choose set McLaughlin’s cash-only bail at $2,500 at her preliminary court docket look Saturday and stated a public defender can be appointed to characterize her.
A message looking for remark was left with the Maricopa County public defenders’ workplace, although it was unclear if a particular lawyer had been assigned to the case but.
