Alaska News

Mat-Su dog breeder faces 50 counts of animal cruelty

A Mat-Su man faces 50 counts of cruelty to animals after state troopers and borough officials found 22 dead dogs and 110 other dogs that were ailing, troopers said.

Frank Rich, 53, of Willow was arrested and taken to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility, troopers said.

Animal-care staff with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough were working late into Monday evening to remove about 110 dogs from Rich's property in the Montana Creek area, the borough said.

Most of the dogs being rescued are malnourished and dehydrated, troopers said.

Another 22 dogs already had died from exposure, starvation and dehydration, troopers said.

Richard Stockdale, the borough's Animal Care & Regulation manager, said most of the dogs are huskies, a few are malamutes.

The borough said Rich is a dog breeder.

Anchorage Daily News/adn.com

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