Woman ordered to pay $400 in restitution

The restitution was sought to cover costs Horry County’s Animal Care Center incurred when they took the 20 dogs seized by Horry County police on March 31 from Janie Waddell’s property on Rosario Place near Loris.

A 72-year-old Loris woman was ordered Tuesday to pay $400 in restitution to the Horry County Animal Care Center and relinquished ownership of 20 dogs seized from her home last month.

Janie F. Waddell, 72, pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating the county’s animal care and treatment ordinance before Magistrate Mark Harris, who sentenced her to a $100 fine or five days in jail but suspended that sentence. Harris ordered Waddell to pay the restitution by June 1.

Waddell’s plea was negotiated so that two other charges, violation of the county’s litter accumulation ordinance and the rabies ordinance, were dismissed Tuesday with her guilty plea, Harris said.

The restitution was sought to cover costs the shelter incurred when they took the dogs seized by Horry County police on March 31 from Waddell’s property on Rosario Place.

Kelly Bonome, the animal center’s operations manager, said most of the dogs seized from Waddell were adopted by area residents between April 1 and 7. The remaining dogs, which included miniature poodles, dachshunds and pugs, were available for adoption at the center.

“There were not any significant health issues with the animals,” Bonome said after the hearing. “She really did care about the animals.”

There were six dogs remaining at the shelter that were available for adoption, and Waddell asked for those to be returned to her.Harris told her Tuesday that would violate her plea agreement.

Waddell rescinded her request.

“I wanted to retrieve some of my animals, the ones that were not adoptable,” Waddell told Harris. “I’ve taken care of these animals for years and years.”

She said there was construction at her property and that’s why the dogs were in cages and she does not have enough outdoor kennels for all the animals. Waddell said she would rotate the animals in the outdoor kennels during the day until she left for work.

After the hearing, Waddell said she wanted her animals released because she cared about them and wanted the charges to “go away.”

During the hearing, the Horry County officer who charged Waddell said officers received a complaint about animal welfare at Waddell’s property andfound 30 animals on the property. At the time, Waddell did not have shot records and there was an accumulation of trash on the property, the officer said.

Waddell’s was the third largest animal seizure case in Horry County in a month.

On March 5, Horry County police seized 37 dogs, including some show dogs and one that was recognized at the Westminster Kennel Club, from a Conway area couple. Eduardo and Amber Chaviano were ordered to pay $3,160 in restitution to the Horry County Animal Care Center and clean up their home within 30 days.

The couple returns to court on Wednesday to see if two birds seized from their home will be returned to them.

A day before the Chaviano seizure, officers took 146 dogs from Conway-area resident Renee James.

The 49-year-old woman was ordered to pay $445 and relinquished custody of the dogs to county officials. Police said James, who owns Pet Safari in Conway, was running a puppy mill.

Bonome said her staffers are tired after the recent influx of dogs, but they are “professionals and we will continue to move forward like we always do.”

“It’s not something we are unable to handle,” Bonome said after Tuesday’s hearing.

A handful of women, who said they are advocates for the animals, said they hope to strengthen animal laws and ordinances in the area to prevent such cases.

“It’s disappointing but it’s only what the court can do and the law allows,” Cheryl Essex said after Waddell’s hearing. “We’ve got to get the laws changed. The judge can only do so much and the police can only do so much as well.”

During a meeting last month, Sen. Greg Hembree, R-North Myrtle Beach, said he is crafting a bill aimed at preventing puppy mills and regulating such operations. Hembree and Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, met with residents in late March at the Grand Strand Humane Society to hear their concerns about puppy mills.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Woman ordered to pay $400 in restitution."