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Willow public meeting presses borough for transparency after 25 dogs died at Caswell kennel
Summary
Residents and mushers urged the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to accelerate and publicize an independent investigation into the deaths of 25 dogs at a Caswell kennel; Manager Brown said the borough has retained attorney Richard Payne to lead the probe and some assembly members plan a special review committee to examine enforcement and policies.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough held a special assembly meeting in Willow on Aug. 23, 2026, where dozens of residents pressed officials for answers and accountability after 25 dogs were found dead at a Caswell property.
Several mushers and kennel owners urged the borough to make the investigation fully transparent and to overhaul animal-control practices. “We need culpability. We need transparency, and we need to know where the public funds are going to,” said Letty, a musher and kennel owner from Talkeetna, during audience testimony. She and other speakers described repeated calls to animal control beginning in January that they say produced inadequate follow-up.
Manager Brown told the assembly the borough had identified an external investigator, Richard Payne of Denali Law Group, and…
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