Buy the Dog, Kill the Dog, Bury the Dog

(Brookhavan, New York) A 43-year-old woman, Sharon McDonough, has been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty for allegedly killing more than 20 dogs and burying them in her back yard.

McDonough's operation has been described as a pet concentration camp.

Sharon McDonough's son, Doug, alleges his mother routinely went on a "power trip" by purchasing a dog and eventually deciding to kill the animal and add it to the makeshift animal graveyard behind her home, the New York Post said Monday.

"She would buy the dog, treat it like it was the greatest dog in the world for a few days, then they would sit in the cage until she decided to kill them," McDonough's son alleges. "It was a power trip."

The remains of the dogs were unearthed on McDonough's home by authorities, leading to misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty against the Selden woman.

Officials said the charges could become felony counts if authorities determine the animals were intentionally killed by McDonough.

Authorities are reviewing past complaints about missing pets.