Lawmen rescue 400 animals from deplorable conditions in SC so far in 2022. Here’s what to know

Just in the past week, law enforcement officers seized more than 80 neglected dogs at two unrelated locations in South Carolina and charged owners with ill-treatment of animals.

Add those to the 300 others found in cages and homes and running free so far this year, many near death. No food, no water, covered in feces. Nearly 40 animals of all types were already dead by the time rescuers arrived.

“This certainly feels like a growing problem, but it may be that these situations are now being reported or law enforcement is more aware of them,” said Aldwin Roman, vice president of Operations and Strategy at the Charleston Animal Society, which often responds to seizures no matter where they are in the state.

In Spartanburg County on Wednesday officers from the county’s Environmental Enforcement Department found 58 dogs and sent 41 of them to Greenville County Animal Care. The 17 left were in good shape and in a fenced in area, but the resident Joevaughn Meredith, 35, is facing 12 charges of ill-treatment of animals.

On Monday, 42 dogs that looked like Labrador retrievers were seized in Laurens County on property dotted with sheds, broken fences and full garbage bags.

The first thing deputies saw was a nearly hairless female dog with sores on her body and her puppies in a pen, the Sheriff’s Office said. Other dogs in wire crates were covered in feces and had no food or water.

Some dogs were dead.

“These disgusting incidents are way too common,” Laurens County Sheriff Don Reynolds said in a news release. ”People live this way, doing terrible things to defenseless animals while creating health hazards around them.”

Arrested were Joyce Elaine Bynum and Robert Franklin Harrison, both of whom were charged with three counts of felony ill treatment of animals, with torture and nine counts of ill treatment of animals.

Roman said Laurens County is a good example of “tackling these cases head on.”

Last year, Laurens County had two major rescues, more than 400 animals in July and 270 in February. The seizure of 400 animals was one of the largest in state history and involved an array of animals — horses, dogs, pigs and chickens.

Officers went to the Gray Court property July 16, 2021, after someone reported mistreatment of horses. They found underweight horses, hogs, rabbits, hens and roosters without water or food. The horses’ hooves were overgrown and their teeth were in poor condition.

Dead chickens were found in a barrel and decayed on top of a cage.

Authorities said they found 12 horses, 30 dogs, four hogs, three piglets, eight rabbits and about 356 chickens.

Residents Robert Milton Kellett III and Tina Messer Hurley were charged with 19 counts of torture of animals, one count of overworking animals, trafficking in methamphetimines, possession of a vehicle stolen from Simpsonville and receiving a license plate stolen from Spartanburg.

Kellett was charged with criminal conspiracy for cockfighting.

All the charges are still pending.

In February 2021, Laurens County officers, tipped off by a disgruntled buyer whose puppy was sick, seized 270 animals from a puppy mill. They found 145 dogs, mostly chihuahuas, 107 chickens, 10 ducks, eight rabbits and two cats at the property that included various sheds and garages.

Dogs were in stacked small crates in “horrific” conditions, officers said at the time.

Reynolds said in a news conference after the seizure, “We’re just not going to tolerate it.”

In November 2021, 85 dogs were seized from inside a Laurens County home deputies described as being in complete disarray with an overwhelming smell of feces., “with many hiding inside furniture, walls, and cabinets.” Two puppies were found dead.

Roman said the situation is especially bad when the owners are involved in animal rescue organizations as has happened in the past few years.

In Richland County in June this year, 28 dead dogs and two cats were found decomposed in the home of Caroline Dawn Pennington, the CEO of a non-profit animal rescue called GROWL, who also worked with the Kershaw County Humane Society.

The animals had been dead for some time.

Officers were called by neighbors because of the smell.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott in a release said, “This is someone who was entrusted by the community to care for these animals and find them homes. She betrayed that trust and she betrayed the trust of these innocent animals who relied on her.”

Pennington faces 30 charges of animal cruelty.

Roman said South Carolina lacks strong laws on animal cruelty, but many rescue operations have stepped up to provide training for their own staffs and law enforcement.

Charleston Animal Society has brought in a Colorado organization, Code 3 Associates, for the past four years for disaster response training.

“These large scale cases are difficult,” he said. ”It’s overwhelming.”

Charleston Animal Society also serves as the county’s animal shelter, taking in strays and unwanted pets.

This year’s seizures include 46 dogs in Horry County, 37 dogs and cats from a hoarding case in Cherokee County and 150 dogs from a puppy mill in Pickens County. Three cases were made in Charleston County, six dogs and four dead dogs, eight dogs from a home and 57 dogs from a rescue.

Other animals seized this year were 38 horses, multiple cats and dogs in Spartanburg County, 54 cats from a home which housed a rescue organization in Chester County and 49 cats from a hoarding situation in Colleton County..

Roman said it’s rare, but sometimes rescued animals are too ill or injured that they cannot be saved. They also experienced animals that lacked social development and were dangerous.

This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.