24 September 2023 , 06:05
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An Arizona woman was arrested and charged with animal abuse after a social media campaign allegedly exposed her "doggy special needs clinic" as just a front.
Authorities confiscated dozens of pups after walking into a "horror house" of animal abuse, with police records stating that they found over a dozen dogs - many of whom were malnourished. April McLaughlin, 48, was charged with 55 counts of animal abuse, 55 counts of animal cruelty and one of vulnerable adult abuse, TMZ reported.
Officers who arrived at the scene said they were taken aback at the smell coming from the home, and had to request a backup hazards team to clear the area before they could begin to do their jobs.
Urine and "faeces caked the walls," court documents said. An industrial hygienist on the hazards squad found the air quality dangerous and told officials they must wear breathing masks when inside the home. “The majority of the 55 dogs around the home were in need of immediate medical attention due to the various injuries,” the court document said. “The majority of the dogs dragged themselves to get around or shook due to neurological issues.”
Police said they searched the home of April Mclaughlin after receiving information from a veterinary professional regarding the condition of three dogs - she's since been booked on 55 charges (11NEWS)Rebecca Arizmendi, a board member of Texan shelter Yaqui Animal Rescue, led a charge on social media to expose McLaughlin. She claims to have sent two disabled dogs named Cheko and Butters to McLaughlin’s organization, the Special Needs Animal Welfare League (SNAWL). When Arizmendi attempted to check in on the pets, she got ghosted, prompting her to investigate.
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When Arizmendi started asking questions, she started meeting others who had come into contact with McLaughlin's "organization" and were left with concerns. Then, the women received anonymous footage of McLaughlin's home, featuring a variety of dogs being kept in 'hoard-like conditions.'
That's when Arizmendi travelled to Arizona from Texas where she lives and tried to contact other animal shelters for help. One of those was the Chandler-based Be Like Josh Foundation, whose founder is Kimberley Elliott. “I go way back with April,” Elliott said on social media. “Along with a few other rescues, we tried to expose her back in 2019. We did. All she did was simply lay low for a while and acquire 13 additional aliases.”
When authorities arrived and smelled the property, they had to call in a hazmat team and were told they must wear masks inside the home (11NEWS)Authorities confirmed that the case will take longer than normal to investigate because McLaughlin was indeed adopting pups from various shelters under different names. Shelters do have a system where they vet adopters as much as they can, but as the system, in general, is underfunded and often neglected, it's tough to really determine whether a person has the necessary resources to take care of a dog.
It's more difficult with special needs dogs, according to experts, as many people don't want to take on the responsibility and financial burden. So when women like McLaughlin come around volunteering to take these animals, they end up in her care, as no one else wants to adopt them.
The Yaqui Animal Rescue also connected with Koco Garcia, the founder of Phoenix-based nonprofit Handover Rover. Garcia pleaded the case to the public and asked for assistance in a TikTok video that was posted to Yaqui Animal Rescue’s social media pages. Various animal rights organizations shared the clip, which has expletives. “The laws don’t protect these animals,” Garcia said in the video, “but social media does.”
Garcia urged social media users to contact Chandler officials. She also took her case to the city council meeting on Thursday. “These are not just dogs. These are dogs that are paralyzed, these are dogs that are blind, these are dogs that can’t fend for themselves even if they wanted to,” she told officials.
“There are recordings of outsiders, of passersby, of neighbours that have recorded these dogs dragging themselves through the 115-degree weather through her filth-ridden backyard,” Garcia said. “It’s an atrocity.” Court documents related to McLaughlin’s arrest say that the reason for the visit was “an increase in calls” related to the animal cruelty allegations.
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Welfare workers with the Arizona Humane Society finally paid a visit to the home and said in a statement that: “AHS was able to see a dog named Butters that was related to the original complaint.” The court records said 'Butters’ ribs were now visible,' while before they weren’t. McLaughlin refused them entry on their first visit, but in addition to the skinny dog, authorities noted the numerous flies and the smell of faeces and urine.
She also faces a count of elder abuse, as authorities found an elderly woman in the home who said she's been sleeping on a couch for three years because of the dogs (11NEWS)In a visit three days later, AHS workers noticed some dogs in the yard with exposed skin and immobile legs. They noted that “the ammonia smell was extreme” in the court documents. This was still not enough to shut the 'centre' down though, because AHS returned on September 19th and identified five more dogs in 'dangerous conditions.' The next time they came back, they brought a veterinarian, who apparently provided the key evidence necessary for authorities to charge McLaughlin and remove the dogs.
None of the animals had direct access to water, officially alleged. Ultimately, police and AHS seized 55 dogs. They also found five dead puppies stored in the freezer next to food, said the court documents.
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Allegations of elder abuse add to charges
When authorities arrived, they noticed something else that was off. Inside this home of faeces and flies was also an elderly woman - McLaughlin's mother. She remains unnamed for privacy.
Authorities said that McLaughlin's mother was hospitalized after a stroke around 2020. When the home was inspected, she told officers she "couldn’t access her bank account since her daughter had control over all of her finances" - a common financial abuse tactic.
An investigator asked how McLaughlin’s mother felt about living with her daughter. She allegedly said, “I’d be better if I had more food.” It was also reported that the elderly woman was forced to sleep on a couch, as the dogs had taken over all of the bedrooms. “The last time she slept on a bed was three years ago,” court documents said.
What's next for the special needs dogs and McLaughlin?
Authorities deemed the house condemned after the condition it was in, as dog urine and excrement are toxic. It's likely the dogs did damage to the walls and structure as well.
“We filed a class action lawsuit against April McLaughlin to address the endlessly reported issues of animal abuse and neglect, and to advocate for the welfare justice. We have to figure out which dogs are still alive, and if they’re even capable of getting out of the Arizona Humane Society,” Arizmendi said on Instagram. She also thanked everyone who spread the word.
“We had an amazing, diligent team that worked 24/7 for three weeks to take this woman down,” Arizmendi said. “We had hundreds of thousands of people demanding justice from all over the world … it became a global movement to save all of these animals.”