More than 50 Dogs Removed From Arizona Woman’s Home, 5 Dead Puppies Found in Freezer

An Arizona woman was arrested on Friday after police found dozens of neglected dogs in her home, including several that had died and were being stored in her freezer.

April McLaughlin, 48, ran an animal rescue center called the Special Needs Animal Welfare League out of her home in Chandler, Arizona, according to local news reports. 

Police searched her home after receiving a tip from a concerned vet about the state of three dogs. When officers arrived at her home, they were hit with a foul smell and requested a hazardous materials team, Arizona’s Family reported. 

“We wanted to ensure there weren’t hazardous fumes occurring at the residence with first responders inside a very small home, so that’s why they were requested to ensure that everybody was safe inside the home,” Chandler Police Sgt. Emma Huenneke told the outlet.

Firefighters who entered the home had to wear special breathing masks to conduct the rescue operations. Officials discovered 55 abused dogs inside the home living in squalor.

Some of the dogs had been sitting in their own feces and not given water, prosecutors said during McLaughlin’s first court appearance on Saturday. There were also five dead puppies in the freezer, the Associated Press reported. 

Police and firefighters found dogs with difficulty vocalizing. Some of them were covered by tarps and others were kept in crates stacked on top of one another, according to court documents obtained by Arizona’s Family.

Many of the dogs had special needs and will likely have to be euthanized, police said. 

McLaughlin is facing 55 counts of animal abuse, 55 counts of animal cruelty, and one count of vulnerable adult abuse because her elderly mom lived with the dogs in the home as well.