'Too many dogs': Arizona Humane Society cracks down on filthy conditions at Phoenix dog rescue
PHOENIX - A dog rescue operation in Phoenix is on the Arizona Humane Society's radar.
Earlier this month, our team received several tips about a facility housing dozens of dogs in filthy conditions.
Now, AHS is saying an animal cruelty case has been submitted to Phoenix Police.
WARNING: Some images in this story are disturbing
Our source captured what conditions inside Puppy Luv Animal Rescue looked like just a couple of weeks ago.
Within the past two weeks, investigators with the Arizona Humane Society have been there five times to inspect the facility, but they say in cases like this their options are limited.
Now, the landlord of the building that Puppy Luv has been renting says the rescue has until Nov. 30 to move out after receiving complaints about the noise and smell.
Approaching the business, all the barking you hear lets you know you’re in the right place.
Puppy Luv Animal Rescue is located just off Interstate 17 near Deer Valley Road. The organization moved into the space back in May. It's social media profile describes Puppy Luv as a "no-kill, foster-home-based rescue."
Arizona Humane Society receives multiple complaints
Now, multiple complaints about the rescue have been reported to AHS.
Here’s how McKenna Hamilton, a former Puppy Luv employee, describes the rescue:
"Every dog at that location is in a crate and the puppies are often put with littermates, up to five puppies in the same crate," Hamilton said. "We had a litter of Chihuahuas, there was eight dogs in the same crate.".
Hamilton says she worked there for about four months, quitting in September.
A source who wants to remain anonymous captured images from inside the facility, showing dogs and puppies in crates, lying in what appears to be their own waste.
"Dogs that are on top of the other dogs will pee and poop on the dogs below them," said Hamilton. "Then that also gets in the water bowls. Oftentimes, the water bowls are filled with pee and poop, and a lot of times they go all day without drinking water. Because their water is so filthy, they refuse to drink it so they're very dehydrated. They're very skinny, they're underfed."
Those same crates are stacked on others with dogs bunking together, having rare opportunities to get out in space, according to Hamilton.
These photos and videos were taken on October 6th – just a few days before investigators with the Arizona Humane Society dropped by to check out the rescue.
Tracey Miller, Director of Field Operations at AHS confirmed the allegations.
"When my investigator was there on Tuesday, we took our own set of photos from when we were on scene that are time and date stamped," says Miller.
"One of the requirements that we gave them was the water bowls cannot be on the ground," she added. "So, if the animal does urinate or defecate in their kennel, it's not getting in the water."
AHS issued Puppy Luv’s owners a notice of complaint, giving staff three days to comply with a variety of requirements.
"I definitely think they have too many dogs"
When asked if the problem at Puppy Luv was if they had too many dogs or not enough staff, Miller provided a decisive answer:
"I definitely think they have too many dogs in the space that they have chosen to keep their rescue in," she said.
Hamilton added some context.
"At the Phoenix location - adult dogs - we have between 40 and 50 all in varying sizes of crates," she says. "Most of the dogs barely have enough room to turn around in. Then in the puppy room, depending on any given day, it's between zero and all the way up to 30 dogs at a time in the puppy room. So, at the location at any given time, there's approximately 100 dogs."
So where are all these dogs coming from?
"They do appear to be all puppies from tribal lands. And they - the owners - did tell us that's where they get the majority of their puppies," Miller said.
The day after our interview with AHS, an officer returned for a follow-up visit at Puppy Luv.
Our cameras were there as Phoenix Police investigated the inside and outside of the property.
We saw some dogs outside in kennels while employees tried to clean up. We also watched officers speak to owner Bradley Ware and his wife Gwen Ware - the founder of Puppy Luv Animal Rescue.
"Yes, the dogs are okay," Gwen said when asked if the dogs were okay.
She didn’t have anything else to say. Neither did Bradley who declined our request to be interviewed other than saying, "We are not being cited."
AHS says Puppy Luv was not in compliance
We’re told by AHS that Puppy Luv was not in compliance again after this inspection.
PetSmart also suspended Puppy Luv Animal Rescue and its scheduled in-store adoptions events in conjunction with the rescue.
It’s up to Phoenix Police to find probable cause to cite the organization for violating the city’s ordinance for cruel neglect, specifically, failing to provide an animal with the necessary food fit for consumption or water that is suitable for drinking.
Miller says that regulations on these operations just don’t exist.
She says that shelters, rescues and breeders don't need licensing and are not held to routine inspections, but there is a silver lining that Phoenix's city code is clearer than the state of Arizona.
"Right now, the state just says as long as they have water in the backyard, they're fine. It could be covered in mold and algae or whatnot, and that's acceptable. Also, the definition of food needs to be breed specific and it also has to be edible. Same thing as water. If it's covered in mold, if it's been sitting out in the sun and there are ants in it, it's still acceptable according to state," she said.
Miller says from Sept. 2023 to Sept. 2024, AHS has completed nearly 10,000 animal cruelty reports.
AHS has no legal standing to charge violations, however, and they are left to simply refer what they believe to be criminal cases to law enforcement agencies across the Valley.
"We submitted last year, my team alone, over 260 cases to our law enforcement agencies for prosecution. And I don't know what has happened to any of them," she said.
All AHS can do is continue to respond to thousands of calls and work to get rescues like Puppy Luv in compliance with the laws on the books.
"If they don't and we get another complaint - absolutely - we'll go back out there and investigate it again," she said.
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After five follow-up inspections, most recently on Oct. 15, AHS has issued three notices of complaint and say that conditions have finally improved and are clean for now.
Officials acknowledge this situation got out of control.
There are larger crates and bucket-style water containers hanging inside the kennels, but AHS expects to do spot checks in the near future.
However, from what we’ve learned from former employees, the conditions described were allowed for at least several months.