17 Dogs Die of Heat Exhaustion at Arizona Boarding Kennel

Video: final: sentencing part 4 - gilbert kennel where 23 dogs died of heat exhaustion
Video: stiff sentence sought in deaths of 23 dogs in gilbert

Seventeen dogs, all clients of Green Acre Dog Boarding facility in Gilbert, Arizona, have died of apparent heat exhaustion in what police are calling a “bizarre accident.”

The dogs’ owners, however, aren’t convinced there was no neglect involved.

According to the kennel owners, someone checked on all of the dogs around 11:00pm Thursday night. When they returned at about 5:30am on Friday, they discovered the dead dogs. According to reports, one of the dogs chewed through the cord that powered a window air conditioning unit. The temperature overnight was about 80-degrees.

But, something isn’t adding up.

It wasn’t until Saturday that kennel workers began calling the dogs’ owners. And, instead of telling them of the tragic accident, they told them that their dogs had escaped and were lost.

Video: FINAL: Sentencing Part 4 - Gilbert kennel where 23 dogs died of heat exhaustion

The dogs’ owners want answers. They want to understand how 17 dogs died overnight when it was only 80-degrees out, when only one air conditioning unit was off, but others in the facility were operating. They want to know why 17 dogs were all being boarded in a single room. They want to know why they weren’t informed of the incident immediately, and then lied to. And, they want to know why the 17 dogs’ bodies were piled into a shed in the back of the facility.

Most importantly, they want to know why no one is being charged in the deaths of these dogs.

Video: Stiff sentence sought in deaths of 23 dogs in Gilbert

“We are gonna continue to investigate and find out what happened here. It doesn’t end here. It’s a horrible tragic accident at this point,” said Chris Hegstrom of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.