'Dog hoarder' arrested again as 55 malnourished dogs & 5 dead pups found in home

19 November 2023 , 23:34

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She undertook many aliases

A suspected repeat offender has been arrested again and faces 77 charges of animal abuse after 55 dogs were found malnourished in her home along with five dead puppies.

The woman has been dubbed a "dog hoarder" and this is not the first time she has been arrested under similar claims. April McLaughlin, also known as Sydney Taylor McKinley or April Addison, was arrested on additional charges following a long investigation by law enforcement. She was originally arrested in September - when 55 dogs were seized from her home.

Many of the dogs that were taken had to be euthanised as they were in such poor health. Five dead puppies were found in the 48-year-old's freezer The 77 charges are made up of animal abuse, neglect and abandonment. She also faces the possibility of nine felony charges of cruelty to animals.

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McLaughlin had the dogs at her home under the guise of a "special needs dog rescue" which was called Special Needs Animal Welfare League. However, it turned out this was a fraudulent non-profit. Instead of caring for the dogs she took in, it is alleged she took the money for herself and the dogs were left abused and neglected.

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McLaughlin had several aliases (11NEWS)

In 2018, McLaughlin, of Arizona, found viral fame when she adopted a dog named Clyde. She shared images of the husky to Instagram then started to reach out to dog rescues offering to take on their dogs with disabilities. She used several social media accounts to make it look like she did not have that many dogs when the reality was she was taking on many more.

It is said that she had over 70 dogs at one point, many of which required specialist care due to their disabilities, which authorities say McLaughlin was not providing. One person involved in the case said it was like McLaughlin had "some twisted obsession to take on so many dogs, manipulating people into thinking she's some sort of hero."

Butters is one of the dogs who was in her care at one point but was rescued by his owner (11NEWS)

One woman, whose dogs were taken in by McLaughlin, became concerned when her dog Butters lost up to 15lbs in her care. Rebecca Arizmendi told MailOnline: "I got suspicious when April stopped returning my calls. At first she was posting photos of the dogs and staying in touch and then she just up and stopped. When I asked to see more photos, she claimed she was too busy. She also said one of my dogs had been living with a foster family, when he was actually living in her filthy backyard"

Arizmendi spent months trying to find out where McLaughlin was and urged authorities to look into the case. She has since been reunited with her two dogs. She even made it to McLaughlin's house where the dogs had been kept and described the stench as "like death". She said: "I could hear the dogs whimpering from within the house. You could see tons of flies on the window inside the house. It was absolutely horrendous."

The home where the dogs were kept has been labelled as a biohazard (Supplied)

She added: "I'm happy that she's been arrested. I'm cautiously optimistic though….you never know what that police department is gonna do. I hope the Maricopa County Attorney's office pursues felony charges as well" Another woman whose dog was placed in McLaughlin's care became concerned when she saw her dog, who usually uses a wheelchair, "dragging his back legs across gravel in the scorching heat with no water or shade".

A raid was carried out on her home (Supplied)

13 of the dogs that were in McLaughlin's care are in the custody of Arizona Humane Society after she filed a petition to have her property returned. The next court hearing is scheduled for November 30.

Lydia Stephens