Former SC vet and girlfriend arrested for animal abuse, Lexington sheriff says
A former Midlands veterinarian and his girlfriend were arrested for ill-treatment of animals and practicing veterinary medicine without a license, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
Michael Terence Sauer, 41 and Julia Evans Pickett, 29, are accused of abusing a variety of animal species across two separate properties in Lexington County, according to a news release.
Sauer was charged with 11 counts of ill-treatment of animals, one count of failure to bury a dead animal and one count of veterinarian article violation, according to the release.
Picket was charged with 14 counts of ill-treatment of animals, two counts of failure to bury a dead animal and one count of veterinarian article violation.
Investigators with Lexington County Animal Services said the couple had subjected multiple animals to “deplorable conditions,” including crates and kennels filled with feces and urine.
“In late December, after search warrants were executed at both properties occupied by Pickett and Sauer, animals were found on the properties in varying conditions, injured and dead,” Brittany Jones, director of Lexington County Animal Services, said in the release. “Many of the animals were found to be housed in unsanitary conditions in feces and urine-filled crates, kennels and inside rooms in the home and buildings on the properties.”
Investigators also found a sizable quantity of veterinary supplies and drugs, restricted to use only by a licensed veterinarian, inside the couple’s home, Jones said in the release.
“A dog located on the property had received veterinary treatment following an incident involving another animal,” Jones said in the release. “The nature of the medical procedures raised concerns about how the treatment was performed.”
Sauer, who became a licensed South Carolina veterinarian in 2012, formerly operated the Paws and Claws Veterinary Clinic in Lexington. He became the subject of a disciplinary proceeding before the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners in 2021 after being accused, among other things, of negligent treatment of animals, causing death.
The board stayed — or paused — a temporary suspension of Sauer’s license in 2024, provided he met certain conditions in his continued practice.
For reasons that are unclear, Sauer’s license was suspended May 23, 2025, according to the release.
The couple was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Lexington County Detention Center where they’re awaiting a bond hearing, the release said.
