Caswell dog case has exposed a weakness in the borough's animal care and regulation department

The recent case of the Caswell dogs has seemingly exposed weaknesses in the Mat-Su Borough’s Department of Animal Care and Regulation which invite further public scrutiny. In the Caswell case many firsthand witnesses reported that the Animal Control Officer assigned to the case dismissed their concerns and promised the “dogs would not starve.” Sadly, all but one of the dogs did starve to death in part because witnesses were thwarted by both the owner and the AC Officer in their attempts at intervention. The savior of last resort, Animal Control, failed completely in its own mission to provide for the welfare of the animals.

The Mat-Su Borough, with its immense land area and animal-loving populace (for the most part), must have a well-funded and well-operated Department of Animal Care and Regulation. This Department operates the Shelter as well as enforces the Borough ordinances relating to animal care, and as such, must have the respect and trust of the public. There are legitimate concerns relating to the operations of this Department and upper management’s oversight of this vitally-necessary public service.

Beginning with the operations of the Shelter, the public should question why the Borough’s Shelter has not gone back to an open-admission Shelter like the Muni of Anchorage post-Covid. I have had conversations with several former Shelter employees and volunteers who all stated that the environment at the Borough Shelter had become toxic the last several years. Numbers tell their own story: The “Animal Care Performance Measures” provided in the MSB FY 2026 Approved Budget (ClearGov Document - Fiscal Year 2026 Approved) show that actual volunteer in-Shelter hours declined from 7,120 in FY 2024 to 1,064 in FY 2025, a staggering 85% drop! Has anyone in management questioned this? The Department acknowledges in that same Budget that “…volunteers play a vital role in daily operations...” Additionally, the percentage of animals euthanized in relation to total intakes increased from 17% to 22% between FY 2024 and FY 2025. These stats don’t tell a good story about either operations or oversight.

Moving on to the Enforcement Division, I find it unlikely that an Animal Control Officer would be so laissez-faire about a neglect case despite persistent public complaints without having had previous performance issues. Article 21 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement the Borough has with its Employees’ Association (Microsoft Word - MSBEA 2025-2027 AGREEMENT - JOINT FINAL 10-10-2024) discusses Discipline and Discharge. Does the Officer involved in the Caswell case have a disciplinary history, and if so, were the protocols of Section B followed? In summary, Section B states performance concerns should be documented, and continued performance failures should be followed by a hierarchy of progressive disciplinary action. Section C of Article 21 states “…certain conduct may require more serious discipline than would be available if strict compliance with the above sequence was mandatory…” The public can only hope that supervisors followed guidance and documented any performance lapses with this employee and/or others; otherwise, how can the public be assured that appropriate action can be legally taken? When egregious failure goes unpunished, public trust evaporates. When public trust evaporates, citizens rely on their own vigilante measures.

We love our animals, and we care about other people’s animals as well. Most of us want an agency that will defend and care for the defenseless. Most of us are willing to pay for that agency, and we willingly donate money and supplies and time to help out when needed. We only ask in return that the Borough provides us an agency that has the oversight, funding, and competent staffing to perform its mission according to the highest standards, and when it doesn’t perform according to those standards, there IS accountability and reformation.

Lynn Mitchell is a resident of the Mat-Su Borough.