MaLeisa Hughes, and her husband, Todd (real first name is Jesse) ran a dog boarding facility in Gilbert, AZ called Green Acre Pet Boarding. On the weekend of June 20,2014, 20 plus dogs died while in the care of the facility. The Hughes claim to have been away on vacation, leaving their adult chidren, Logan and Austin Flake, in charge. Austin just happens to be the current Senator, Jeff Flake's, son. During that time, (the time line is unclear due to their many different versions of the story) 20 dogs in their care, died. They claim from heat due to the air conditioner cord being chewed through and knocking out power. However, pictures taken from one family who dropped off their two dogs, one blind, show no A/C unit in that area. or in the room, that the dogs were kept in and died. An 8x8 room. Imagine 20 plus dogs, many larger breeds, in a room that small, in the AZ heat, panting, and with their body heat added to that heat. Apparently they started to call people on that friday, June 20, 2014 to tell them that their dogs had died. Todd also lied to others and said that their dog ran away. Why the Hughes went on vacation when they were being paid $20 per day, per dog, is unknown. However, they did.
Those beloved pets were then tossed into a shed, all dead. MaLeisa first claimed her children tried for 4 hours to revive the dogs by wetting them and putting ice on them. Dead dogs do not wake up from that. no one does. IF they were alive, that very well could have caused them to go into shock and die. Instead of calling a vet, they did what they did. Then she says that they called her, and were panicked so she )MaLeisa) told them to not do anything and they (she and Todd) would head home on next flight back. So which was it?
MaLeisa also claimed on national TV that the house was 30 minutes away from burning down due to the alleged chewed wiring, yet no fire dept reports were ever made to her claim, nor are there any scorch marks on the wall of the alleged incident. She is not a vet, not even trained in animal care, nor is she a fire detective. Yet this is what she clearly stated. Also when asked why Todd lied to the owners and told them that their dogs ran away, she said he panicked and lied.
MaLeisa claims that the dogs were only alone from 11oo pm until 530 am that day. So in 6.5 hours, they died without making a sound that the Flakes, who were allegedly inside the home, claim to have never heard. That alone is a crock. Dogs will make noise and in a situation like that, they would have been very loud trying to escape from the concentration camp like room they were in.
When owners learned the truth and came to retrieve their dead dogs to have a necropsy done, MaLeisa tried to stand int he way of that as well, until the owners had to call the police to get their own dog's dead bodies. She then had the nerve to ask them what was wrong with them? Like nothing happened and the owners should have just simply took her word for it and walked away, forgetting their beloved pets, one of which was a service dog to a handicapped child.
MaLeisa also took in two moredogs, while the 20 lie dead on her property. She did not tell that owner what happened, just took her dogs, for the money. That owner found out by someone else. How disgusting is that. All greed. She kept taking in dogs. Who does that? She is so far from normal, and she is psychotic, by her actions alone. She felt no remorse, and all she kept saying was how she was losing income to take care of her foster kids. Yes, she is a state foster parent, even though her husband has a record of drug possession and DUI. Again, most likely able to do so, due to connection with the Senator.
MaLesia is still singing about her innocence and how it was an accident, but I assure you, it was not an accident. Anyone who would place that amount of dogs in such a tiny room, something was bound to happen to them, If not a dog fight, then something else. Plus all the dogs upon being dead, had paint on them, cuts, abrasions, peeling skin, missing fur and some were soaked from the alleged hose. Also again, the timeline was incorrect as stated by Hughes-Hitler. Some of the dogs were dead for more than 30 hours so a necropsy could not be performed, and were considered haz mat by state dept, because they were already in such long term decomposition. That deep of decomp does not happen in just 6 hours. Since they called a couple owners on friday, then on saturday afternoon, it was already longer than 24 hours.
MaLeisa also does not consider this income, being paid to care for the dogs, nor does she consider the state money she receives from fostering as income. Yes the IRS has been alerted. She does not pay taxes on the income from her dog care. She is not a licensed or insured business, and claims she was unable to obtain a business license. She chose not to do so. There IS a license avaialble, she claims otherwise.
She also claims a dog, Valor, ran away. The family is searching for him, but with so many lies, who knows the truth as to what happened to him, or where he is? Prior to this incident, a month before, someone took their dog there, and that dog came home with paint and chemical burns all over as well. When the owner asked for her money back, MaLeisa refused and said she earned every penny of it. This place should have been shut down long ago.
Her connection with the Senator and Governor is what is scary. They will most likely walk away due to this connection and that is not fair to any of the owners of these dead dogs. They want and deserve justice. I would too. The Hughes and Flakes are nothing but scum. Living off the state, and using people for their love of their pets. They are evil and vindictive. Please do not use their services ever, Please help shut them down.
Some links to the incident:
Yelp is covering up for them too, because they are removing allt he negative posts, but please look for yourself to see what is new: yelp.com/biz/green-acre-dog-boarding-gilbert
azfamily.com/news/911-calls-released-in-case-of-20-dead-dogs-264671431.html
azcentral.com/story/laurie-roberts/2014/06/24/green-acre-kennel-deaths/11315555/
crosstalk.kinja.com/17-dogs-die-while-in-senators-sons-care-1594668054
examiner.com/article/editorial-green-acres-kennel-owners-should-be-ashamed
Plenty more links. Just search any of the words of: MeLeisa Hughes, Austin Flake, Todd Hughes, Green Acre Boardin Gilbert AZ
Mom2Dogs
Washington,#2Author of original report
Sat, July 19, 2014
This fat cow is still not behind bars even though the search warrant has been opened and the autopsy results shown. The dogs pparently died from suffocation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Basically they were losing oxygen, so breathing heavy, creating carbon monoxide, and then died. She has no remorse. They ALL knew that placing those dogs in one tiny room would be a disaster, yet they did it. Her daughter (Logan Flake) does not even like dogs and four years ago sued someone over a SCRATCH, not a bite, a scratch. Even Moocow herself stated ina blog how Logan does not like dogs. So you leave her in charge? Yes this was so planned, accident, my a*s.
Maleisa claimed wire was chewed. Report proves she lkied about that as well. Also doors were caulked shut.
Toxicology tests still waiting to be received.
azcentral.com/videos/news/local/gilbert/2014/07/16/12761081/
14news.com/story/26038928/search-warrant-2-possible-causes-cited-in-gilbert-dog-deaths