Overview
- Maricopa County deputies arrested and booked Gina Marie Steffes after about 22 dogs were rescued from a property near Old U.S. 80 and Salome Highway west of Buckeye.
- Newly released court documents detail welfare checks from Feb. 9–15 that found undersized cages, runs filled with feces and trash, and dogs tethered without clean water.
- Deputies seized nine dogs during a Feb. 18 search, then rescued 13 more—mostly three-week-old puppies described as living in extreme filth—during a Feb. 24 warrant.
- All seized dogs received emergency veterinary care, are expected to be OK, and will be transferred to MCSO’s MASH Unit for rehabilitation once treatment is complete.
- At her March 5 hearing, a judge barred Steffes from any contact with animals; she was released on her own recognizance with a next court date set later in March.