Absolutely Digusting...

[MikeLynn]

That's a real tragedy Just another reason why I'd never leave my dog anywhere - never HAVE, never DO and never WILL. If there should be a serious, unavoidable problem and I would have to, say, go to the hospital for a week or two, there are about three people I trust, so I'd definitely leave my pup with them.
Wonder what really happened and who will be held responsible. Just can't imagine how the owners must feel now and I'm more sorry for them and their dogs than words can describe.

[janedoe]

Yeah. It was too hot. Having lived in Arizona, I can't imagine that kind of death. My husband used to say that we lived in a dryer.

I feel like crying right now. Just awful.

[Berna]

My gut feeling is telling me that something is rotten in this story.

I really hope the police will find out what happened and that the owners of the boarding facility will be punished.

[sparky]

This is so sad. I think the owners reporting that "your dog ran away" is a clear indication this should be criminal. They screwed up and the poor dogs paid the price.
We are so blessed to have a great Vet where we can board Mocha. He loves all the people at the vets office.

[BaconsMom]

This made me sick to my stomach.

[Sir Winston]

Having worked at a dog boarding place, I fail to see how this happened without some blatant negligence. Typically dogs are not left unattended before 8 or 9 PM and people go in at 6-6:30 AM the following. That's a fairly short window, especially assuming the AC was working until the dog chewed up the wire, which would mean the building heat-up should have been gradual and would have began at night, when it shouldn't have been hot enough to be fatal. To me, this suggests that these dogs were left unattended for a much longer period of time, or left unattended throughout the day if the heat killed them. Just a theory, but it seems like something doesn't quote add up.

If they had followed sensible protocol, the problem should have been discovered and addressed before it got hot enough to kill them.

UPDATE:
20 dogs die in Arizona heat after AC kicks out - CNN.com

The kennel owners are claiming the dogs were fine at 11 PM and all dead by 5:30 AM. I call BS on that. Also, this lovely quote from one of the owners:

The gnawed wire was still sputtering off sparks.
"It could have burned down our whole house," Hughes said. "My whole house could have burned down and all my children could have died, and then it would have been a tragedy."

[katALlabs]

Very fishy if you ask me. Now I see some one said one of the dogs chewed his way through an air conditioner cable This forced the heat in there to get up over 100 degrees.
Why did a dog have access to a wire?????

UPDATE: More Questions Surrounding Deaths in Arizona | Life With Dogs

This just shows you they did not care for the dogs.
""It could have burned down our whole house," Hughes said. "My whole house could have burned down and all my children could have died, and then it would have been a tragedy."

Only a tragedy if your children died? what about the people's dogs?

[DuryLane]

So sad for the dogs. I've only boarded dogs once, years ago. Since then, either DH or I are home. Kinda puts a crimp on vacations but with seniors they are much more comfortable at home.

We have denied ourselves many vacation options because I just can't make myself board my dogs. I also have a senior guy here that would become so stressed if he was boarded that I have not even given it another thought. I'd be afraid to his condition when I came home. And because he won't/can't be boarded, I couldn't board Tilley, my Lab either, because Dodgie is her constant companion and I'm not sure how well she would fare if she had to be boarded without him. It's a bummer, that's for sure, but I'd stress too much the whole time I'd be on vacation, knowing they were in a kennel, especially after reading like the situation on the news.

[lovemylabby]

Very fishy if you ask me. Now I see some one said one of the dogs chewed his way through an air conditioner cable This forced the heat in there to get up over 100 degrees.
Why did a dog have access to a wire?????

UPDATE: More Questions Surrounding Deaths in Arizona | Life With Dogs

This just shows you they did not care for the dogs.
""It could have burned down our whole house," Hughes said. "My whole house could have burned down and all my children could have died, and then it would have been a tragedy."

Only a tragedy if your children died? what about the people's dogs?

I believe there was a hole in the wall? That is where the dog got a hold of the wire...a hole in the wall!

I smell a big fish here...I honestly think the time line that was reported is incorrect and these poor dogs were in this room without supervision for a much longer amount of time...the air conditioning most likely went off way before they admitted it did.

And you mean to tell me...that no one at this facility called 911 or a Vet? Hughes said they worked on the dogs for FOUR HOURS!

Are you kidding me? No one called for medical help during these four hours???

Please! What a negligent, horrible place. Who would put 20 dogs together in one room??? Horrible...

[Sir Winston]

Yeah, I don't get that 20 dogs together either. The place I worked at had separate kennels for each dog. The only dogs that were together were ones from the same owner. They certainly never had access to any kind of wiring, and the area was not only air-conditioned but well ventilated and had industrial fans in case the AC wasn't working properly. I'm not sure whether there are laws or regulations for pet boarding facilities governing that, but there should be.