More than two dozen dogs starved to death in a small Alaska town — and the surrounding community is demanding answers.
The tragic incident occurred on a private property in Matanuska–Susitna Borough, near the town of Willow, Alaska. The borough encompasses a huge area just north of Anchorage, and even includes part of Denali National Park. It’s also an area with many professional and casual dog mushers.
That community is accusing the borough’s animal control unit of gross negligence after more than two dozen sled dogs were left to die of starvation — despite repeated requests from the property’s neighbors to investigate howling coming from the property.
When the borough’s animal control officers finally got involved, just one dog was left alive, according to an online post by Mat–Su Animal Shelter. Since Saturday, that Facebook post has received nearly 600 comments, many of them from locals demanding to know why officials didn’t act sooner. Many outraged neighbors said they had been asking the borough’s managers to investigate the property since January.
The borough has launched an internal investigation to determine what happened. Alaska State Troopers also confirmed the deaths of the 25 dogs and launched a “criminal animal cruelty investigation.” Mat–Su Borough Manager Mike Brown has now issued a public apology on the borough’s website. He acknowledged the community’s anger over what happened.
“The Borough has received numerous public comments regarding the recent deaths of 25 dogs at a property in Caswell Lakes. We recognize how difficult and heartbreaking this is for our community, and we share in the concern many residents are feeling,” Brown wrote. “We also hear the community’s expectation that the Borough must do better in fulfilling its responsibility to protect animals and intervene. I agree, we must do better.”
One Surviving Dog
Many of the borough’s residents have been following the incident for months. In several cases, neighbors offer detailed accounts of what they think happened to the dogs left unattended. They said that heavy snowfall and a lack of footprints made it clear that no one was visiting the property. Despite calls for action, no one intervened, they said in multiple online posts.
Since then, several locals have been organizing to bring their complaints to the government. Sara Hogan asked members of the popular Mat–Su Valley News page to sign a letter demanding accountability and answers. Many others asked residents to attend an April 21 meeting of the Borough Assembly.
GearJunkie contacted both the borough’s managers and local residents for interviews, but didn’t hear back as of this writing.
The single dog who survived the incident was actually rescued by local resident Mike Dolinar early last week, according to Alaska Public Media. Dolinar took a video of his investigation into the property, and described a horrific scene of starved and frozen dogs.
“I saw a foot dangling out of a dog house,” he told the news outlet last week. “I just saw dead dog after dead dog after dead dog.”
In Alaska, animal cruelty penalties range from Class A misdemeanor charges of neglect (jail time up to 1 year) to Class C felony charges of cruelty (up to 5 years in prison). As for the local government’s possible culpability, Borough Manager Mike Brown said there would be “an external independent review of our actions and protocols to ensure we have clear, effective systems in place to protect animals while also respecting the rights of our residents.”
“The findings and recommendations from that review will be shared publicly when completed,” he said.
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