A former RSPCA inspector who publicly criticised the charity has been found dead at her Martock home in Somerset.
Dawn Aubrey-Ward, 43, accused the RSPCA of unnecessarily killing animals during an interview with a national newspaper last year.
Ms Aubrey-Ward, who by her own admission suffered from "severe depression", worked for the charity as an inspector for two years.
One of her children is understood to have discovered her body hanging at the home she rented in North Street, Martock, on May 8.
In an article in the Mail on Sunday last December, Ms Aubrey-Ward claimed she was forced to put down healthy pets because they could not be rehomed. After the interview was published, the RSPCA issued a statement denying allegations that healthy animals were put to sleep "routinely".
It said: "Dawn Aubrey-Ward is a disgruntled former employee of the RSPCA who was subject to a disciplinary investigation for alleged theft of animals. She left the organisation with matters still pending. There were also police concerns drawn to the RSPCA's attention of irregularities relating to her possession of firearms and some welfare concerns regarding animals under her care during her working time for us."
Ms Aubrey-Ward responded: "They really are stooping low. My animals are happy and healthy."
The suspected theft related to a tortoise which she took home from a police station to care for. The firearms related to the storage of a gun and ammunition used to destroy animals.
In October 2011, Ms Aubrey-Ward found her partner, Robert Colclough, a police surveillance specialist, hanged at their home in Torquay. She told an inquest that Mr Colclough, a civilian working for Devon and Cornwall Police, was stressed after being told he was being made redundant and was worried about how to keep up maintenance payments for the children of his former marriage.
The day before she was found dead she is said to have posted on Facebook: "That's it, I give up. I am unemployed, broke, struggling and allegedly 'damaged'."
Villagers in Martock are shocked by the tragedy. One, who asked not to be named, said: "It is so sad. She had two young children, I think her daughter is aged around 10. She hadn't been here very long. I just used to see her walking her dog. We chatted but I didn't know her well."
Ms Aubrey-Ward explained on Twitter why she joined the RSPCA. "I joined because I wanted to help animals and their owners care for them, not to run round using a gun to end healthy lives."
In another tweet, she said: "I'm beyond caring!"
An RSPCA spokesman said: "We are very sad to hear the news and our thoughts are with Dawn Aubrey-Ward's family."
A spokesman for East Somerset Coroner Tony Williams confirmed an inquest was opened and adjourned in Shepton Mallet on Monday.
