'Significant errors, lapses in judgment': Report details failures linked to Caswell dogs' deaths

What you need to know:

• Mat-Su Borough animal control officers failed to follow their own policies and procedures after repeated warnings about a Caswell Lakes kennel where 23 dogs later starved to death, according to a newly released report. Investigators identified 14 violations of borough code or policy and described systemic problems with training, supervision and accountability.
• The report recommends Mat-Su Animal Control Officer Joseph Dickenson and Chief Matthew Hardwig be relieved of their duties. Dickenson resigned before the report was released, while Hardwig received disciplinary action. Investigators said Dickenson failed to properly inspect the dogs or verify kennel conditions, while Hardwig failed to enforce training requirements and provide adequate supervision.
• The borough has ordered 13 operational changes and directed staff to draft updates to borough animal control laws. A written implementation plan for those changes is due early next month.

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PALMER — Mat-Su Borough animal control officers failed to follow their own investigation protocols and rules after dozens of phone calls over more than a month alerted them to problems at a kennel near Caswell Lakes where 23 dogs were found starved to death in April, a new report states.

Nearly a dozen Mat-Su residents spoke with borough animal control officials before the dogs' deaths, warning of conditions at the kennel and the apparent lack of food, water and adequate shelter, the report states. Their complaints were dismissed or ignored, they said during public testimony and interviews at a borough meeting in April.

The dog's owner, Misty Rehder, 35, was indicted early last month by a grand jury in Palmer Superior Court on 24 counts of felony cruelty to animals connected to the deaths of the dogs and the near-starvation of one more. A trial is set for early next month.

The sweeping 95-page report, released Thursday afternoon, details what it says were investigative failures by Matanuska-Susitna Borough Animal Control Officer Joseph Dickenson and training and oversight shortfalls by Animal Control Chief Matthew Hardwig. It provides a detailed account of witness statements and actions by Dickenson and Hardwig related to the dogs' deaths, including information from their interviews with investigators.

The report recommends that both Dickenson and Hardwig be relieved of their duties.

Dickenson resigned last month just after a pair of interviews regarding his role in the investigation, Borough Manager Mike Brown said in an interview Thursday.

Rather than being relieved of his duties, Hardwig received official disciplinary action under the borough's personnel policy, Brown said. The case is Hardwig's first disciplinary action in more than 23 years as a borough employee, Brown said.

"The investigation identified significant errors, lapses in judgment, and deficiencies in oversight that raise substantial concerns regarding leadership effectiveness, adherence to established protocols, and the division's ability to consistently protect animal welfare," the report states.

"Officer Dickenson's investigative failures were not isolated. This review finds that they reflect systemic deficiencies in training, supervision, policy and accountability within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Animal Care Division," it states.

Dickenson and Hardwig did not respond to requests for comment.

A necropsy performed on the dogs by a veterinarian at the borough animal shelter found they had starved to death and that many had feces and straw in their stomachs at the time of their deaths, according to the report.

The report includes a tally of 14 specific violations of borough code or policy that occurred between when officials first received complaints about the dogs' care in early January and when Dickenson closed his investigation into their treatment in early February, more than two months before they were found dead.

Among those failures, the report states, Hardwig disregarded anonymous complaints or those made by phone because they were not submitted in writing, despite agency policy giving such reports equal weight. He also did not enforce training requirements, it states.

When reviewing the dogs' treatment, Dickenson accepted undated photos and feedings from Rehder as proof of care, and never conducted a visual food inspection or physically examined the dogs to assess their health, the report states. He also failed to verify that Rehder was meeting any of the terms of her kennel license, including living on the property, having the equipment needed to comply with her required evacuation plan and having adequate shelter and food in place, it states.

The investigation was completed early this week, Brown said. A memo directing 13 changes to animal control operations to address failures identified in the report was sent Tuesday by Brown to Borough Animal Control Director Vanessa Forbes. The memo also orders Forbes to draft proposed updates to borough law recommended in the report.

Wasilla-based attorney Richard Payne conducted the external review in conjunction with an internal investigation by Jason Ortiz, a deputy borough planning and land use director.

Alyssa Buser, a Talkeetna resident who contacted the borough repeatedly about the kennel before the dogs' deaths, said she believes the report represents a full and accurate picture of what happened. She said that while she believes Rehder is ultimately to blame for the dogs' deaths, the report also clearly shows how Dickenson could have stepped in.

"His inaction led to this," she said. "He could've stopped them from dying."

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com