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Tag: Fairfield County Animal Shelter

  • Innes: We need more vet care, staff & a decent shelter

    On hand for Fairfield County Animal Control Director Bob Innes’ presentation on the urgent needs for the animals at the Fairfield shelter last month were: Kathy Faulk, President of HoofandPaw SC; Miss Williamsburg Amanda Peterson; Fairfield County Councilman Dan Ruff; Innes; and Councilwoman Peggy Swearingen. Peterson’s platform during her campaign for Miss South Carolina is Peace for Paws, which brings awareness to animal cruelty and the importance of animal rescue.

    WINNSBORO – During public comment time at the April 10 county council meeting, Kathy Faulk, president of Hoof and Paw SC, asked council to consider doing more for the animals in Fairfield County. As an example of how a county can improve the lives of its animals, Faulk pointed to the City of Aiken’s animal ordinance.

    In 2005 when the city adopted the ordinance, it spent $80,000 to house and care for 667 abused, neglected and stray dogs.

    By 2015, the city’s population had increased by 2,600 residents but the number of dogs in the shelter had dropped to 383 and the cost to care for those dogs dropped to $64,000.

    By 2018, the shelter population had dropped to 252.

    “That’s because of the ordinance they adopted in 2005,” Faulk said. “Fairfield needs to consider adopting such an ordinance.”

    On April 19, Fairfield Animal Control Director Bob Innes addressed the conundrum Fairfield’s shelter faces with a stricter animal control ordinance during a Fairfield County public services and development committee meeting in this speech:

    I think the Aiken City ordinance, which is very progressive, is a good ordinance. Dogs must be fixed, registered, microchipped, etc., which is great. And it would be good for this county once we are in a position to actually enforce such an ordinance. But we’re not there yet.

    There’s no point bringing in more laws, if we can’t enforce them. With an ordinance like Aiken’s, we would be bringing in a lot more animals and, right now, we wouldn’t have the staff or the room to take care of them.

    We Need More Staff

    Aiken County has six animal control officers, 12 full time staff and 15 part time staff at their animal shelter. We have four people: a director, two animal control officers and a secretary at the moment. We’ve had two job positions open since July of last year that we’re trying to fill.

    We’ve been severely understaffed for the last two years when the county let our temps go. We struggle with overcrowding in the shelter, plus we don’t have enough staff or a proper facility. These things should have been done years ago. When I first came here in 2016, the administration had vision at that time. Then council changed. But if we would have stayed on the right path, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

    Our full time animal control officers never get a full weekend off. They have to work five and a half to six days a week. Many people don’t realize how stressful this job is. l deal with it daily. It’s extremely difficult with only four people in my department. We struggle every single day. I’ve asked for one more temp in this budget coming up. I can’t get more than that because the county hasn’t got the money.

    It takes three animal control officers to cover 710 square miles. That’s how big this county is. Since July of last year, there’s been two officers plus me. And I’m supposed to also be doing my regular job.

    We Need a Vet

    We desperately need a veterinary service that’s open five days a week. Or we could build a facility with a vet employed by the county. A vet clinic would generate money for the county. We all discussed this four or five years ago, and so the four or five years are down the road now.  At this very moment in time we only have the use of one veterinarian who can spare only three hours a week to fix our animals. And he does as many as he can in that time. Aiken County employs a vet for 30 hours a week.

    We take in both Winnsboro’s animals and the county’s, but Winnsboro has only just started to pay the county for taking care of their animals.

    We Need a New Facility

    The first thing we need before we adopt more ordinances is a new facility. Without that, you can change every law you want in the book, but If you don’t have the staff and space, you can’t enforce them, and nothing improves.

    We do need to have stronger laws to have animals fixed, to be microchipped so we know who they belong to when we pick them up. We do need to stop the breeding of dogs – that is especially important for this county because the overbreeding is the problem.

    But you can’t change conditions with stricter laws unless we’ve got a plan. And a plan should be to build a facility and work your way up, and then you can enforce tighter laws.

    I’m bursting at the seams up the road with animals. You know, times are so tough now.

    We Need Investment

    The problem with Fairfield is we don’t invest in our [animal control] department. We call upon the sheriff’s department so many times during a week to deal with what’s going on with animals in the county, but they’re short staffed, too. We just need this county to rethink and do the right thing by our animals.

    I’ve got 20 dogs down here, a whole one side of our kennels across the road. They’re all court case dogs. I can’t do anything with them until their owners have been to court. And that could be another year.

    If we want to progress, we need investment. Nothing’s going to happen unless we invest. I’ve seen animal abuse and neglect in this county go up over the last two years. And it’s getting worse and worse and worse. Much of the public just does not care. We’re picking dogs up daily with more and more injuries, etc.

    And then I have people come down here to the shelter and tell me that all I need is a couple of windows put in the building and to get rid of my temporary help. That was a decision made by a previous council. It’s so frustrating.

     I’m sure I’ve come across as being strong headed about this, but when you deal with it every single day, and the staff is worn out, and every day we take in more and more abused, neglected and stray animals it sometimes gets unbearable.

    In spite of all this, we’ve actually helped moved this county forward in seven years – from bringing in $6,000 a year with a euthanasia number that was 65 percent, to bringing in $280K last year. That’s a big difference, but even though we brought that money in, none of it has been put into the department. No investment whatsoever. I’ve spent $34,000 trying to improve what I’ve got down the road and every dime of that has come from donations from generous people who want to help. 

    The animals down at the shelter at this very moment in time are all perfectly good dogs and they are all adoptable. But they need more vet care, more staff and a new shelter. That’s the bottom line.

  • Overcrowding may force Fairfield shelter to euthanize

    WINNSBORO – Because of severe overcrowding and weeks of unrelenting heat, the heretofore no-kill Fairfield County Animal Shelter may have to start euthanizing animals, says Bob Innes, the shelter’s director.

    The overcrowding has reached an intolerable point in the last six weeks due to a sudden drop in the number of pets being adopted and fostered, an increase in pet surrenders, and the large number of pets picked up off the streets.

    In light of the overcrowding, which currently has the shelter at more than double its 44-pet capacity, Innes has issued an urgent plea for help from anyone in the county or surrounding counties who is able to foster or adopt animals.

    “We’ve never euthanized for space since I came here, which was in October, 2016, but I’m afraid we’re going to be left with no choice if we don’t get some relief soon,” Innes says.

    In a recent post on the Friends of Fairfield County Animal Shelter Facebook page, shelter volunteer Samira Yaghi made a passionate plea for help from the public.

    “Folks, I honestly don’t know what tomorrow or the weeks to come hold for our dogs at the shelter. Their fate is unknown as we continue to struggle for space,” she wrote.

    “We are at a loss and complete standstill. I [don’t know] what is going to happen, but we are all faced with extremely challenging times and decisions. And this is true of every shelter, coordinator and director/manager I have chatted with,” Yaghi wrote.

    “Our shelter has zero dogs leaving this week. None. And only three cats leaving. We only had one transfer last week, a dog,” she wrote

    Yaghi said that as the shelter continues to add to the surrender list waiting to come in, it is still picking up strays in need.

    “We have very little staff to care for these animals,” she wrote.  “To have to continue to sardine animals into a shelter that is not set up for this influx is extremely disheartening.”

    It’s hot outside the shelter and hot inside the shelter, making overcrowding even more uncomfortable for those animals confined to crates.

    Innes says a major contributing factor in Fairfield is that too many people are still not being responsible toward their animals, and he says it’s a problem that’s getting worse rather than better.

    Overbreeding Pit Bulls

    Another ongoing contribution to the shelter’s overcrowding is backyard breeders, Innes said.

    “They just breed pit pulls after pit bulls, and then when the mamas have had so many litters, they disregard them, and a big percentage of these pups that are sold off to a lot of different people end up running in the streets, and we [animal control] end up picking them up,” he said.

    Ninety percent of the pets in the shelter, he says, are consistently pit bulls. The other 10 percent are other (mostly mixed) dog breeds and cats.

    Innes says even animal rescues up north, where many of the South’s excess shelter animals are sent for adoption, have stopped accepting animals because adoptions are down there, too.

    In the last six weeks, he says, such adoptions have all but stopped.

    “I’m not only talking about local rescues; I’m talking about all rescues,” Innes says. “Where we would move 10 dogs a week, we’re likely to only move one. Rescues are just not taking animals.”

    He says many factors play into this trend.

    Right now is a difficult time of year for animal fostering and adoption because people are on vacation and may put off plans to take in a pet until they return,” he says.

    Also, many people are returning to work after the Covid-19 pandemic, which means some people may no longer have the time available to foster or adopt pets in need.

    While there has been recent positive news at the shelter, mainly the award of $35,000 in grant funding from Petco on behalf of Yaghi’s extraordinary, nationally recognized volunteer efforts at the shelter, the situation with overcrowding is dire and extremely stressful on both the animals and the staff.

    Innes says the county has made a $10,000 commitment to pay for plans to be drawn up at some point for a new shelter facility with space for 80 dogs and a veterinary clinic, but such a facility is still years away.

    The overcrowding problem, by contrast, is immediate – and Innes is hopeful that people will foster or adopt pets from the shelter so they don’t have to be euthanized.

    “Anyone interested in fostering a dog or cat or adopting and looking after it properly, please call us at (803) 815-0805,” Innes said. “Every animal deserves a chance.”

    The shelter is locate at 1678 U.S. Highway 321 Business N. in Winnsboro.

  • Dogs push Fairfield County shelter over capacity

    Bob Innes, Director of the Fairfield Co. Animal Shelter & Adoption Center, checks on dog crates stacked two-high in a back room of the shelter, which is housing 22 more dogs than it has capacity for. | Photos: Barbara Ball

    WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County Animal Shelter announced on Jan. 6 that it would be closing its doors for all non-emergency intakes until further notice.

    “We are so overcrowded right now that we can’t take any more dogs from people dropping them off for surrender,” said Fairfield County Animal Shelter Director Bob Innes. “We have to save what space we have for emergencies – dogs hit by cars, strays that have to be picked up, etc.

    “We have 65 dogs in here now and we only have capacity for 43,” he said. “At this point they have to go right into a crate when they come in, and we have to keep many of them outside during the day in their pens. We don’t have the space inside. But it’s so cold at night that we start bringing the dogs in about 4 o’clock in the afternoon.”

    “We’re bursting at the seams,” Innes said of the situation. “At night, they’re all over the place in here. We just don’t have enough space.”

    Space for these dogs was found in the shelter’s restroom between the toilet and the wall.

    By the time staff leaves for the day, Innes says dogs in crates occupy every open space inside the shelter – sometimes two crates high – in hallways, restrooms, the laundry room, the entry, the back room, everywhere.

    Innes’s passion for the animals he oversees has inspired a cadre of volunteers who not only help with the animals, but donate and fundraise for the shelter.

    Much of the funds the shelter operates on, especially for emergencies, are raised and donated by the Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society, the Friends of Fairfield County SC Animal Shelter, and from others in the community. Innes says much of the donations come from outside Fairfield County. In December, the Blythewood Artists’ Guild raised thousands of dollars in cash and products for the shelter during the Guild’s annual holiday market.

    The intake, across the street and next to the public works building, consists of a long narrow hallway with kennels along each side with no space for other offices. Only a few have outside runs.

    Besides not having adequate space to properly house the dogs as they wait for adoption or transfer, the inside of the intake facility across the street from the shelter is stark and cramped – a single, narrow hallway with kennels on either side. 

    Volunteers have been campaigning for and raising funds toward building a new, more adequate, up-to-date shelter. At the same time, the county has made cuts in funding to the shelter last year as well as cutbacks in temporary help, a blow to the shelter’s day-to-day operations.

    Almost all of the dogs the shelter takes in are Pit Bulls or a mix of the breed. Innes says they’re good dogs, they just need good homes.

    Under Innes’ guidance, the Fairfield shelter has been designated a no-kill shelter. He says euthanasia is not an option to overcrowding – that is only used for severe sickness or injury.

    “We’ve been able to transfer some of the dogs to rescue organizations,” Innes said, “but we need to move more.” 

    The shelter depends on volunteers to transport these dogs to other areas of the state and even across the country where their chance of adoption is better. But for the last month or so, transfers and adoptions have been slow.

    According to a post on the shelter’s website, adoptions from the shelter are not limited to residents of Fairfield County. Residents from surrounding counties are welcome to adopt, he says.

    To volunteer or donate to the shelter, call 803-815-0805.

    The shelter is located at 1678 U.S. Highway 321 Business North in Winnsboro. Hours are Monday – Friday, 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. and by appointment on Saturdays.

  • Man charged with starving Fairfield dog

    Rochester, N.H. – Police in Rochester, New Hampshire have arrested a man for allegedly starving his dog to death last fall.

    That dog, Mandy, a 2-year-old Pit Bull was a Fairfield dog that had been brought to the Fairfield County Animal Shelter last year and adopted to a rescue organization, according to County Animal Control Director Bob Innes.

    “The rescue organization then adopted the dog out,” Inness said. “Now the dog is dead. These things happen everywhere. It’s a shame,” Innes said.

    Michael Jouvelakas, 30, has been charged with two Class A misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals in connection with the death of Mandy.

    Capt. Todd Pinkham was quoted in the Rochester newspaper as saying that an anonymous caller contacted the Rochester Police Department on Oct. 3, 2019, to report they believed Jouvelakas shot and killed Mandy and that Jouvelakas left Mandy’s body in his Chestnut Street home’s basement. This claim about the cause of the dog’s death proved to be false after an investigation.

    While officers were arriving at the home, however, other officers located Jouvelakas nearby according to the newspaper report. At the home, officers said they found Mandy’s body wrapped in a blanket inside a trash bag on the bed of a pickup truck.

    Jouvelakas was released while authorities conducted a necropsy and consulted with animal forensics specialists about Mandy, Pinkham said. After the additional investigation determined Mandy’s cause of death was starvation, Police were unable to locate Jouvelakas and issued a warrant for his arrest.

    Innis told The Voice that he was contacted on Tuesday by the Rochester police who said Jouvelakas turned himself in Monday evening.

  • Shelter seeks person(s) responsible for dog’s torment

    $250 Reward Offered for Conviction of Anyone Responsible

    WINNSBORO – Around noon on Sept. 11, a Fairfield County Animal Control officer picked up a young male Pit Bull stray with wounds so gruesome that after he was brought into the shelter and photographed, the staff felt the need to attach warnings ‘before opening’ on some of the photos they posted on the shelter’s Facebook page.

    Pepper was found with a two-inch deep gash around his neck caused by an embedded tether.

    Those photos showed a gaping wound on the dog’s neck, a gash about two inches deep, completely circling the neck. A tether (cord) around his neck had cut through the flesh and was embedded in his neck.

    “The cord was so tight around the dog’s neck we could only see it from underneath his chin [where the ends of the knotted tie were hanging down] near his jugular,” Samira Yaghi, a shelter volunteer, posted on the shelter’s Facebook page along with several horrific photos of the dog’s injuries. “Sliced through like a knife, the cord was so tight and so far in, the staff could not remove it. We could smell the infection from a distance,” Yaghi added.

    In addition, the dog’s neck was swollen with fluid from the restricted circulation caused by the cord, according to the veterinarian report.

    Unable to extract the cord, the shelter staff transported the dog they named Pepper to Blythewood Animal Hospital for emergency surgery.

    Within hours, shelter volunteers had raised enough funds over social media to pay for the life-saving surgery to remove the cord.

    At the animal hospital, doctors discovered two other lesser cuts circling the dog’s neck consistent with the beginning of other cords or objects embedding into the neck according to vet reports.

    A veterinarian at Blythewood Animal Hospital removes the cord embedded two inches deep in Pepper’s neck.

    The tether could have been embedded for up to three months, the report stated.

    And there were other problems.

    Malnourished and infested with heartworms, Pepper needs more donations for heartworm treatment.

    The dog was reported to the shelter as a stray after he reportedly roamed onto someone’s property in the Greenbrier area.

    Members of the Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society say someone in the community must know the dog and are offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the dog’s condition.

    “We are hopeful that by offering this reward that someone will recognize this dog and come forward,” Kathy Faulk, a Hoof and Paw board member said. “When you see something like this, say something so we can all put an end to animal abuse and neglect.”

    For now, Pepper remains hospitalized and will continue on extended use of antibiotics and pain meds with consistent cleaning, Bob Innes, Director of Fairfield Animal Control, said.

    “What this poor dog has endured, for who knows how long is deplorable,” Innes said.

    “Despite his painful injuries when Pepper was brought in, he was very sweet, wagging his tail, soaking in the kindness and care he was receiving.” Yaghi said. “We would like to thank everyone who donated toward his medical care. That support is the only way we can tend to these emergencies efficiently and immediately.”

    Anyone wishing to provide information about the person(s) who neglected or abused Pepper, can contact the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office at 803-635-4141.

    To donate to Pepper’s heartworm treatment, go to: https://www.paypal.me/friendsoffairfield.

    Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society is offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for Pepper’s injuries.

  • Solicitor declines to prosecute animal neglect case

    WINNSBORO – Peebles is a lot like most Fairfield County pets suffering from neglect. 

    When Fairfield County animal control first inspected Peebles in June, the 10-year-old pit bull was covered in fleas. A police report said Peebles had so many fleas, a flea comb filled several times.

    Water used to wash the malnourished dog became darkened by the parasitic insects. Photos show a large patch of bare skin on her back, the result of a severe flea infection, according to the vet report. 

    Peebles had other ailments. 

    She tested positive for heartworms. Peebles had an eye infection as well.

    Her front paw was mangled, the result of an unspecified injury that went untreated for eight years making it difficult for her to walk. A veterinarian said her paw required amputation.

    Several teeth were missing, and what teeth remained had been ground down to mere nubs. Not only did she struggle to eat hard food, infection settled in, requiring the remaining teeth to be extracted, according to the report. 

    The veterinarian’s assessment was painfully clear. 

    “The doctor advised that the condition of the dog was due to neglect,” the police report said. 

    Fairfield County Animal Control learned of the emaciated animal through an anonymous call. Bob Innes, the county’s animal control director, in the report described the dog’s condition as “deplorable.”

    Innes said the dog has since been placed with an animal rescue organization.

    Despite the horrific and unambiguous nature of Peebles’ prognosis, prosecutors aren’t pursuing criminal charges. 

    Randy Newman, solicitor for the sixth judicial circuit, which includes Fairfield County, said he doesn’t dispute that Peebles suffered from neglect. But he said the case did not rise to the level of prosecution, that it lacked sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction.

    Calling the case a “sad situation,” Newman said he understood the owner voluntarily surrendered the animal because she couldn’t afford to care for it.

    There is also a notation in an incident report that an anonymous caller notified the Fairfield County Animal Shelter about 9 a.m. June 18, 2019 of the dog’s condition. Documents show that at about 9:45 a.m., the owner surrendered the dog to the shelter.

    “The applicable statute requires knowing and intentional ill-treatment of the animal,” Newman said. “In our view, it is not likely a jury would unanimously find evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to convict, especially considering the owner initiated contact with animal control.”

    Section 47-1-40, the section that Newman cites, also says that a defendant can be found guilty when animal neglect is caused by “omission or commission.”

    Newman said prevention is often more preferable to prosecution.

    “Bringing criminal charges on folks who cannot afford pet care is not the answer,” Newman continued. “We need better education on what it takes to care for a pet, and I hope that folks who find themselves in this situation will not hesitate to call animal control or another shelter and turn the animal over.”

    Jill Andrews, a former prosecutor in the Richland County Solicitor’s office who prosecuted the animal abuse cases, said the case does, in her opinion, meet the threshold for proving animal neglect.

    “In my opinion, it does meet the elements,” Andrews said. “There may be documents that he (the solicitor) doesn’t have, or it could be they have documents others don’t have. What I did see is that it did meet the elements under the statute.”

    The decision not to prosecute comes following recent legislative reforms designed to enhance animal abuse enforcement.

    In 2018, the Fairfield County Council revised its animal abuse ordinance, which set a $500 fine for violations, the maximum fine that counties can impose under state law.

    At a ceremonial signing in Aiken last month, Gov. Henry McMaster signed Act 43 into law, a bipartisan measure which requires magistrates and municipal judges to receive at least two hours of training on animal cruelty issues every four years.

    In addition, when defendants are found guilty in animal abuse cases, they can be held financially liable for the animal’s care leading up to the trial.

    In Fairfield County, animal abuse cases have a history of languishing in the legal system, including one case pending for 2-½ years.

    In March 2017, Fairfield County Animal Control found a severely malnourished hog. The animal was lying on its side, unable to move, in deep mud and feces in the corner of a brick room of an outbuilding. The door to the room was boarded and nailed shut, according to an incident report.

    Once weighing 300 pounds, the pig’s weight at death was 175 pounds, the report said.

    A misdemeanor charge of ill treatment of animals was filed against Lirhonda Butler, 41, of Winnsboro. Butler reportedly has hired Columbia criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Johnny Gasser to defend her case. No further action has occurred in the case, according to the Fairfield County Public Index.

    Newman said he anticipates the case will be tried before the end of the year.

    As for Peebles, she will not have her day in court.

  • McNulty’s taproom brings the music to town

    Hayes, back center, joined Fairfield Animal Shelter volunteers Sam Yaghi, Dawn Branham and Sonja Murphy and their rescues; Taproom owner Larry ‘Trippy’ Phillips and Tumbleweed with 97.5 WCOS.

    BLYTHEWOOD – It was a full house Friday night at McNulty’s Taproom when country music singer Wade Hayes took the stage in the main dining room. The evening kicked off with Hayes visiting with fans out front under the WCOS tent during a fundraiser for the Fairfield Animal Shelter from 6 – 8. At 9 p.m., the restaurant’s chef and his band, the Yarborough Brothers, opened the big show and Hayes followed.

  • McNulty’s Taproom hosts Wade Hayes, animal shelter fundraiser on Friday

    BLYTHEWOOD – When American country music artist Wade Hayes comes to McNulty’s Taproom in Blythewood Friday night, he’ll be making two appearances. One, his big show, will open at 10 p.m. inside the restaurant. The other will be from 7 – 8 p.m. out front in the WCOS tent, where Hayes will be partnering with the Fairfield County Animal Shelter to bring awareness to the needs of shelter animals and visiting with his animal-loving fans.

    “Wade’s newest release, ‘Who Saved Who?’ is about his own rescued dog,” McNulty’s Taproom owner Larry ‘Trippy’ Phillips explained. “He wants fans to bring donations of dog food, dog treats, dog toys, leashes/ collars, blankets, dog beds etc. to help with the needs of the Fairfield County Animal Shelter, and they will receive a free autograph and photo of Wade. They can even have a photo taken with him,” Phillips said.  “And there will be puppies and other pets on site for adoption,” Phillips said.  “It’s going to be lots of fun.”

    To hear Hayes perform his new release as well as his hits from the 90’s, purchase a ticket for $35, reserve a table (hightops, $50 and lowtops, $100) and stay for the 10 p.m. performance, where he will be singing fan favorites such as On A Good Night, Old Enough to Know Better, What I meant to Say and I’m Still Dancing with You.

    The WCOS tent will be out front from 6 – 8 p.m. Hayes will join WCOS from 7 – 8 p.m. The Yarborough Brothers will open the evenings’ entertainment at 9 p.m.

    “It’s filling up fast,” Phillips said. “It’s going to be a big night here in Blythewood – great music and great food. It’s a show you don’t want to miss.”

    For information or to purchase tickets, call 803-834-4037. McNulty’s Taproom is located at 420 McNulty St., in Blythewood.