The deaths of 21 dogs at an upstate New York boarding facility are under investigation, authorities said Monday.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the dogs were found Sunday at Anastasia’s Acres Dog Boarding Facility in Argyle. Another dog found there was taken to a veterinarian for treatment, but further details about the animal’s condition were not disclosed.
It was not immediately clear what caused the deaths, and authorities said the facility’s owners have been fully cooperating with the investigation.
Leah Brown told CBS affiliate WRGB-TV that she was vacationing in New Hampshire when she got the call that her dog Rex had died at the facility. Brown said investigators told her there was an issue with the facility’s ventilation system causing the dogs to suffocate but authorities have not confirmed the cause.
Hannah Elmore, 12, told WRGB-TV that her family dropped off their 3-year-old dog, Piglet, at the facility on Friday before leaving for Pennsylvania. On Sunday, just hours before they planned to pick her up, they learned she had died.
She told the station when her family arrived at Anastasia’s Acres Dog Boarding. they met with law enforcement and gave them their information and Piglet’s name.
“They went inside and got her and brought her out, and then we brought her home, and then we buried her in the backyard,” Elmore told WRGB.
The facility’s phone rang unanswered on Monday, and it did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the matter. A notice posted on the facility’s social media accounts said it would be closed until further notice.
