Second surviving dog recovered in Mat-Su cruelty case; borough names special investigator
The dog, Birdie, is in good health and housed at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Animal Shelter, officials said.
What you need to know:
- A second live dog linked to a Willow woman charged with 26 counts of animal cruelty was seized from a Talkeetna home Thursday and is now in borough custody. She is in good health, officials said.
- Misty Rehder was arrested after more than two dozen dead dogs were found at her kennel last week.
- Wasilla attorney Richard Payne was selected Thursday to lead an external investigation into Matanuska-Susitna Borough animal control officials’ actions related to the kennel. Witnesses say they warned officials for months about the dogs’ conditions but were ignored.
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PALMER — A second live dog owned by a Willow woman charged this week with 26 counts of felony animal cruelty is in Matanuska-Susitna Borough custody after borough officials seized it from a home in Talkeetna on Thursday.
The dog, known as Birdie, is in good health and at the Mat-Su animal shelter near Palmer, borough Manager Mike Brown said in an interview Friday. Animal control officers removed from the home of Talkeetna resident Chad Smith because she is evidence in an ongoing Alaska State Troopers investigation, he said.
Smith did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Information on when or how Smith acquired Birdie was not immediately available.
Birdie’s owner, Misty Rehder, was arrested Tuesday and charged with 26 counts of animal cruelty after more than two dozen dead dogs were found at her kennel last week.
One dog, Woody, was alive on the property and transported first to a private veterinary clinic and then to the animal shelter, where he was treated for starvation and dehydration, officials said. He is expected to make a full recovery, Brown said.
Rehder appeared in court Wednesday but did not enter a plea. Her bail is set at $25,000.
Witnesses said they repeatedly alerted borough officials early this year to deteriorating conditions at Rehder’s kennel but were ignored. Had officials taken their concerns seriously, the dogs would still be alive, they said.
Brown late last week ordered a full external review of borough animal enforcement officials’ actions related to the kennel and the dogs’ deaths. Wasilla attorney Richard Payne has agreed to lead that investigation, Brown announced during a special Assembly meeting in Willow on Thursday.
Brown said Payne will conduct his investigation in partnership with Jason Ortiz, a deputy borough planning and land use director who is running an internal review of the incident, a step required by borough policy.
A former Palmer assistant district attorney, Payne has also worked as an attorney for the city of Wasilla and as a public defender. He applied in late 2024 to fill a seat on the Mat-Su Assembly left vacant after the resignation of Rob Yundt. He ultimately was not considered for the role because he was unable to attend a required interview due to a family emergency out of state.
Payne did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com