06/14/2026
The Caswell 27 case had a tragic addition to it yesterday. This post is copied from Kathleen Frederick, however we chose to not share the more graphic picture. Head over to her Facebook for the full scope of horror if youd like..
"[WARNING: graphic and upsetting photos are attached]. And just when I thought the systemic failures of Animal Control [Mat-Su Borough and Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Control] couldn't get worse, I got the following news this evening:
It turns out that the landlord of Mark Walker and Misty Rehder finally got the eviction finalized for the cabin in Caswell that they had been renting so he went out to clean out the cabin. On the bed in this small cabin was a sleeping bag, and under the sleeping bag was a deceased dog. This makes dead dog #25 for Misty Rehder and Mark Walker (now in Montana). This is in addition to Woody [dog #26}, who miraculously was found barely alive and is now being nursed back to health, and Birdie [dog # 27] who was found in the possession of Chad Smith of Talkeetna (Misty's fiancé). Mark and Misty had 28 dogs; 27 now have been accounted for. Animal Control obviously didn't look around carefully when it went into the cabin and found other deceased dogs but didn't find #27, whose tail was partially visible under the sleeping bag. The worst part of this horrible saga is that all of these dogs did not have to die, had Officer Dickenson of Mat-Su Borough Animal Control done his job.
For those of you unfamiliar with this tragic story, the 25 dogs died of starvation. The deaths were unnecessary. Beginning on January 12, 2026 through the end of February, at least 10 individuals had reported (some multiple times) to Mat-Su Borough Animal Control that Mark Walker had abandoned the dogs and that Misty was no longer living at the Caswell cabin and was not feeding the dogs beginning on January 12, 2026 through February. Mat-Su Borough Code regulations REQUIRE a kennel owner or his/her agent be on the premises but nobody was living there and Mat-Su Animal Control was told that repeatedly. By the end of February, Officer Joseph Dickenson of Mat-Su Borough Animal Control told the most persistent callers that he "had the matter under control" and that the dogs "would not starve." They believed him, as I would have if I had been in their shoes.
In mid-April, after hearing a report that one very skinny dog was at the cabin when the landlord posted an eviction notice on the front door, a concerned individual went over to check on the remaining dog [Woody] and that's when he found multiple dead dogs in the back yard -- most dead from starvation in their houses but one was frozen to the ground. He looked in the window and saw other dead dogs. The troopers were called and the next day they went out with Animal Control and found three dogs deceased in the house: two were in crates full of f***s. But, surprise, surprise, Animal Control did not do a thorough job of accounting for the 28 dogs (a mixture of cattle dogs, heeler/pitbull mixes, a chihuahua and some Alaskan huskies). One was seen off-site a week or two later living with Misty's fiancé and was reported to the troopers who then seized the dog [Birdie] after the caller said if they did not seize the dog, she'd post the situation on social media.
The latest tragic discovery is dog #27. Let's see whether the Palmer District Attorney's office does THEIR job by amending the charges against Misty before her hearing on Thursday, June 18th to add one more felony c animal cruelty charge and whether they finally charge Mark Walker with class c felonies [to date, they have declined to do so] for the deceased dogs.
Now the reason I am posting these graphic pictures is because yesterday another animal lover and I met with the Palmer District Attorney who, at least in past year, has been notoriously lax in their handling of animal cruelty cases. There are four such examples which are in previous posts of mine: two examples involve Misty Rehder and Mark Walker but the other two involve different individuals with a prior history of animal abuse: Kevin Neher and Angela Walker (Gehring). Ms. Walker is unrelated to Mark Walker.
We met with the Palmer District Attorney to discuss why: egregious animal cruelty cases were being undercharged, ridiculously low bail was being proposed, "slap-in-the wrist" plea bargains were being accepted by the Palmer District Attorney, and the failure to charge Mark Walker in the Caswell case after he had abandoned the 28 dogs leaving no money for their food. Here is what the Palmer District Attorney told us: "Felony c cases are low-level felonies like a stolen credit card so have very low priority." We were shocked.
After looking at these photos, do you think starving to death a living being is comparable to the theft of a plastic credit card? I know I don't. Do let the supervisors of the Palmer District Attorney's office ([email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]) AND the Governor's office ([email protected]) know what you think if you believe this mentality is unacceptable. Unfortunately, this mentality seems to drive the decisions of the District Attorney's office regarding the charging and prosecution of even the most egregious animal cruelty cases."
