SC police release video of dogs thrown over fence at animal shelter as search continues
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office released a video of an alleged crime that led to the death of two dogs.
In the video two people drive up to a fenced in area of a Sumter County animal shelter and one person tosses four dogs over a 9-feet fence. Police say the incident took place March 2.
Two of the dogs died, according to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Adrienne Sarvis said all four dogs were chihuahuas.
“At least one of the subjects is seen throwing the dogs over the fence before both individuals get back into the vehicle and leave the area, headed north on Guignard Drive,” Sarvis said in a statement.
The dogs didn’t die from the fall but from running out of the fence and getting hit by cars as they tried to get back to the people who threw them over, said Cindy Cook, the director of the Sumter SPCA where the animals were left.
Cook told the Sumter Item that the dogs were thrown over “like a basketball.”
The surviving two canines suffered scrapes, The Sumter Item reported.
An employee of the shelter said all the people had to do was come during the daytime and they could have dropped the animals off without harm. She told WIS the act was “cruel.”
Police are still searching for the people responsible for the abuse towards the animals. They will face at least four counts of ill treatment of animals when arrested, according to the sheriff’s office.
Police are asking other nearby businesses if they have security footage from March 2 that may help in the case.
Felony ill treatment of animals carries up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each conviction, under South Carolina law.
The Sumter SPCA is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and receives animals until 4 p.m., while it’s closed Wednesday and Sunday, according to its website. It receives animals until 2 p.m. Saturday, just hours before the chihuahuas were thrown over the fence.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.
This story was originally published March 9, 2019 at 9:17 AM.