“How can you be healthy at 11 o’clock and dead at 5:30 in the morning? I think that’s the key element,” Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said of the recent deaths of 20 dogs under the care of U.S. Senator Jeff Flake’s son Austin and daughter-in-law Logan Flake.
The two Flakes were in charge of boarding operations at Logan’s parent’s Green Acres Dog Boarding Facility at 15723 East Appleby Road.
“Owners claim the air conditioning was cut off after a dog chewed through some electrical wiring,” said Arpaio. “But it seems unreasonable that dogs could be healthy at 11 p.m. and dead by 5:30 am as the owners suggest.” Arpaio said the veterinarian believed that the timeline “given by the owners and caretakers is highly suspect.”
At a press conference, Arpaio, known for his aggressive stance on animal abuse and neglect, reiterated his promise to fully investigate why so many dogs died a needless and horrible death.
Most of the dogs reportedly died on Thursday. When deputies arrived at the boarding facility on Saturday, they discovered 20 dead dogs piled into a shed on the property.
Dogs owners who met with Sheriff Arpaio claimed they were lied to and misled by the kennel’s owners regarding the number of dogs being cared for there.
“Clearly, this is a situation that demands immediate and thorough investigation and I promise that my office will deliver just that,” Arpaio says.
Jesse and Malesia Hughes who have operated the pet boarding business for two years were out of the state when the dogs died.
When the Flakes discovered the dogs at 5:30 Friday morning, they attempted to save what animals they could by hosing and icing them down but failed to call for emergency assistance before the dogs died.
“There are a lot of questions that both this Sheriff and the dog’s owners have and believe me by the time we are done with this investigation, we’ll have the answers to most, if not all of the questions,” Arpaio says. “If a crime occurred, someone will be held accountable.”