The Mat-Su Borough Animal Control called in Alaska State Troopers on April 15, 2026, to assist in a case involving 25 dead sled dogs and 1 dog on the brink of starvation in the Caswell Lakes area of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
The story was picked up widely across local news stations after Willow resident Mike Dolinar discovered the dead dogs. Locals had been concerned about the treatment of the dogs for months. Dolinar heard that most of the dogs had been adopted out, and he went to the kennel to see if that were true. It was not. Dolinar filmed the ghastly site he found at the kennel.
“I saw a foot dangling out of a dog house,” he said in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News on Thursday, April 16. “I just saw dead dog after dead dog after dead dog.”
Dolinar found only one dog alive, but suffering from severe neglect. He took the dog to an animal clinic for care.
On Tuesday, April 21, Alaska State Troopers arrested 35-year-old Willow resident Misty Rehder on 26 counts of Cruelty to Animals. She was remanded to Mat-Su Pretrial without incident.
The same day, Borough Manager Mike Brown issued a statement regarding the case and locals’ concerns that Animal Control failed to respond to warnings from locals reporting the dog owners’ neglect: “I’m asking for your patience to allow the investigation to run its course. Our Animal Care team cares deeply about animals and works every day with compassion and dedication. Please be civil. The cruelty done to these dogs does not justify mistreating others.”
A Mat-Su Borough press release assures the public that there is an external independent review related to Borough enforcement actions currently underway. Updates will be shared with the public as information becomes available. Mat-Su leaders agree with the community that “the Borough must do better in fulfilling its responsibility to protect animals and intervene.”
The press release acknowledges that there is “a significant amount of unofficial information circulating on social media and through local news outlets, and not all of it is factual or complete.” However, many Alaskans are frustrated with the lack of official information. Dolinar said officials will not even let him know if the dog he found alive survived or not.
