A Mesa woman has been arrested on multiple animal cruelty charges after police discovered a journal depicting the abuse and deaths of multiple dogs in “torturous detail.”
Mesa police announced Tuesday that 42-year-old Brook Scalero was arrested after her roommate discovered the journal allegedly belonging to her. The journal described the torture of more than 10 dogs and the deaths of five dogs, according to police.
Scalero was arrested on Nov. 14 for possession or use of narcotic drugs, where she admitted to owning the journal but claimed the stories were creative writing.
In June, Paws Fur the Cause, a nonprofit organization and no-kill animal shelter, reported that Scalero had agreed to pay $500 for a 3-year-old Maltese mix named Pepe the month prior. Scalero claimed she would pay for Pepe that night, but the shelter never received a payment.
On Oct. 5, police responded to reports of a dead dog who matched the description of Pepe at VCA Animal Hospital. However, a microchip confirmed that the dog was not Pepe, but another dog named Griffin.
Griffin was also registered to Scalero and had injuries consistent with animal abuse, police said.
Scalero also lived with a roommate for nearly a year, whose dog Gus died in Scalero’s care. Gus’s death was documented in Scalero’s journal, police said.
On Nov. 15, a dead dog was found behind a bush that was confirmed to be Pepe by the microchip.
At her initial interview, Scalero admitted to taking Pepe without paying for him, and at her second interview on Nov. 18, Scalero admitted to her involvement in the torture and deaths of Pepe, Griffin and Gus.
She was booked on two counts of cruelty to animals, one count of domestic violence cruelty to animals and one count of theft.
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