WATONWAN COUNTY — A 37-year-old Brooklyn Center woman faces two felony and two misdemeanor charges after authorities found 17 malnourished dogs covered in feces in crates and found the remains of 18 dogs in various stages of decomposition in rural Watonwan County in November.

Laura Anne Berg faces charges of felony animal torture and cruelty and misdemeanor deprivation of food and shelter and unwholesome enclosure from May through November, 2025.

Watonwan County Sheriff’s Deputy Jaylyn Woratschka responded to a Nov. 15 report of many malnourished dogs at a rural St. James residence owned by, but not occupied by two people who reported the incident, according to court documents.

When Deputy Woratschka arrived, the two people who made the report were cleaning up a dog that appeared to be a one-year-old Belgian Malinois that was so underweight, it’s entire rib cage was visible.

The two individuals said they had a secondary residence and allowed their friend, Laura Anne Berg, to stay at their residence and start her own dog rescue sanctuary. They said they recently noticed many new dogs at the residence, all of which appeared to be in poor condition.

Woratschka found 17 dogs in individual crates, covered in feces that appeared very underweight in a neighboring garage. She learned that Berg had been living at the rural St. James property since May and ran a dog rescue and got in over her head after receiving dogs she found on Facebook and Craigslist.

The next day, Woratschka was called back to the same rural location on reports of deceased dogs found in garbage bags. A number of people from dog rescue organizations were at the property to clean up and care for the dogs.

Woratschka applied for and was granted a search warrant executed by Watonwan County Sheriff’s Investigator Sgt. Adam Butler, plus representatives of the Minnesota Animal Humane Society (AHS) and Critical Response Team. Seventeen live dogs were seized. Eighteen dead dogs were found on the property, in various stages of decomposition and visibly malnourished.

A Watonwan County Court appearance was set for 9 a.m., Dec. 23, 2025.

The Minnesota AHS reported to Butler that one of the live dogs seized earlier that day had to be humanely euthanized due to continuous seizures. That dog in addition to another deceased dog that was seized, will be submitted for a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

An initial court appearance was set for 9 a.m. Dec. 23 in Watonwan County Court.