This year’s Hoof & Paw Benevolence Society officers held their first meeting at Tweedberry Farm in Ridgeway with board members Kathy Faulk, president; Minge Wiseman, treasurer; Terri Daughtry, vice president; Aimee Griffith, member at large; Kathy Korash, secretary, and Janell Gregory, social media.
BLYTHEWOOD – The Hoof & Paw Benevolent Society returned to in-person gatherings with their first regular monthly meeting after more than a year on Saturday, June 5.
The group met at Tweedberry Farm in Ridgeway for a covered
dish picnic and a K9 Agility demonstration. Alison Carter, the owner and
operator of Carolina Performance K9s in Columbia, set up an abbreviated course
at the farm and showed off the agility skills of her champion Border Collie,
Passion. Passion breezed over jumps, wove through poles, darted through tunnels
and showed off several impressive tricks, all of which brought cheers from the
audience.
Entertainment was provided by agility dog, Passion, at left performing flying course work.
Hoof and Paw members had a lot to celebrate, including a
wider outreach in the Midlands area through funding numerous spay and neuter
clinics, funding lifesaving heartworm treatments for animals in shelters and
rescues, organizing rescues for animals in need, providing pet food to senior
citizen pet owners and more.
To join Hoof and Paw, or assist them in their mission, please visit them on Facebook at HoofandPaw SC or reach out to them by email at hoofandpawsouthcarolina@gmail.com.
Celebrating their combined efforts to pass an ordinance to outlaw tethering dogs in Fairfield County are, from left, kneeling: Fairfield County Animal Control Director Bob Innes and his staff, Leah Oswald, Nikki Jones and Samira Yaghi; Hoof & Paw board members Kathy Faulk, Paula Spinale, Minge Wiseman and Linda Moore. Back row, from left: County Administrator Jason Taylor, H & P member Mary Lynn Kinley, county council members Moses Bell, Clarence Gilbert, Mikel Trapp, Bertha Goins, Douglas Pauley, Jimmy Ray Douglas and Hoof & Paw president Deborah Richelle who is holding a photo of one of the group’s longtime leaders, the late Shirley Locklair. | Barbara Ball
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County voted unanimously Monday night
to unleash a ban on animal tethering, an important protection animal advocates
say will help reduce animal injuries and abuse cases. Members of the Hoof and
Paw Benevolent Society as well as staff from the county animal shelter were on
hand to celebrate the ordinance.
“It’s been a longtime coming,” Hoof and Paw board member
Kathy Faulk, a Fairfield County resident, said. “It’s a positive move forward
for our county.”
The ordinance also includes provisions curtailing animal
hoarding. The vote followed a workshop a week earlier where the county sought
input from the community about the proposed law.
A key component of the Fairfield ordinance is a set of
guidelines for replacing tethering with a trolley system, which resembles a zip
line. With a trolley, leashes are attached to an overhead cable that gives dogs
greater freedom.
Trolley lines must measure at least 20 feet between
endpoints, and dogs attached to trolleys must wear a harness. The ordinance
prohibits attaching the trolley leash to a collar. Harnesses are considered
safer because they wrap around a dog’s chest instead of having a collar around
a dog’s neck.
Councilman Moses Bell asked whether the county animal
shelter might keep in stock a selection of harnesses in various sizes for
residents to purchase. County Administrator Jason Taylor said that would be a
good idea and he would look into the possibility.
The ordinance also calls for dogs to have access to adequate
food, water and shelter.
An earlier version of the ordinance allowed limited
tethering for short durations, but the final ordinance bans tethering
altogether.
“[This ordinance] takes the tethering concept away,” said
Tommy Morgan, the county’s attorney.
“This [revision] is needed on so many levels,” Faulk said.
At an earlier meeting, she thanked council for their promotion of animal
welfare in Fairfield County and also called for an end to overbreeding and
hoarding in the county.
Chain, Collar Injuries
To illustrate the problem of animal abuse caused by tether ing,
Faulk distributed to council members a stack of graphic photos of dogs with
deep neck wounds that resulted from tethering.
“We were mortified, very sad and angry as we looked at these
photographs,” Faulk said.
“We seem to be picking up more and more animals that are
injured by chains and collars,” Bob Innes, the director of the county’s animal
control and adoption center, added.
While the ordinance also cracks down on animal hoarding,
Morgan said the ordinance isn’t directed at legally operated kennels or
livestock.
In regard to multiple animals living in a home, Taylor said
owners of multiple indoor animals must first have a license, and it must be
determined that the location is suitable for this type of operation.
“More rules will need to be put in place to state what will
qualify as a kennel,” Taylor said. “The state rules for a kennel are that you
must have a concrete floor with a drain to be able to be washed out each day
and have a place for the drain water to go,” Taylor said.
“Once the ordinance is in effect, will there be a window
with proper notification before citizens are held accountable to the new rules,
such as the new trolley/harness system?” Council Douglas Pauley asked.
“It should be up to the officers who respond to the calls to
let the citizens know of the new rules and that should take care of a large
part of this concern,” Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas said.
“Once the ordinance is in place, it would be hard to swing
the pendulum to the other side immediately and think everyone will immediately
know the new rules and be on board,” Taylor said. “There will be an education
period, which will include working with the Sheriff’s Department. In extreme
cases, the new ordinance will be followed. However, within reason, we will work
with the citizens,” Taylor said at the earlier workshop.
Bob Innes, Director of the Fairfield County Animal Shelter
said the ordinance was desperately needed, and suggested it should be phased
in, possibly beginning with the new fiscal year.
Animals Trapped in Vehicles
The ordinance also addresses animals left in vehicles.
“Any regular citizen can break a window if the owner of an
animal [trapped in a vehicle] cannot be found,” Innes said.
At the workshop, Ridgeway resident Randy Bright called all
kinds of animal abuse a “stain on our entire county.”
Bright repeated his previous calls for the solicitor’s
office to more aggressively prosecute animal abuse and neglect cases. He also
noted some cases could be prosecuted under the new federal animal cruelty law,
which carries penalties of up to seven years in prison for the most serious
offenses.
“How can we leverage that? Federal laws have the highest
penalties it seems,” he said.
This is Fairfield County’s second revision in as many years
to its animal control ordinance.
In 2018, council revised the ordinance to include a $500
civil fine for violations. The updated law also includes more detailed
definitions of nuisance animals and requires all pets to be fed once a day and
provided potable water. It also requires mandatory reporting of pets struck by
a vehicle.
The Fairfield County’s anti-tethering ordinance mirrors a
similar ordinance that Aiken County adopted in 2017. Aiken County Administrator
Clay Killian told The Voice that the ordinance has not faced any legal
challenges.
Taxpayers Pay for Abuse
Innes said all types of animal abuse cases, including over
breeding and hoarding, burden taxpayers in the long run.
“There’s a lot of people in this county that are just
chaining a dog and just breeding it and breeding it,” Innes said. “They dump
puppies on animal control, which means taxpayers are picking up the bill.”
The newly approved animal cruelty ordinance is available on the county’s website: fairfieldsc.com.
$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.
Fairfield County Attorney Tommy Morgan (right) explains why the county cannot issue fines greater than $500 for violations of a new animal control ordinance that received second reading Monday night as Kathy Faulk with the Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society (left) looks on. | Michael Smith
WINNSBORO – It could cost up to $500 per violation in the enhanced animal control laws under consideration by Fairfield County Council.
Second reading of the draft ordinance passed unanimously last week.
While animal rights advocates applaud higher fines and greater guidance for law enforcement, they say the new law, which hasn’t been updated for 11 years, should go further.
Kathy Faulk, community outreach director for the Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society, which lobbied for more teeth in the law, commended the council supporting the ordinance.
“Updating this animal ordinance is, as you know, long overdue. We are hopeful and very excited that this ordinance may go through,” Faulk said. “It will help improve the quality of life of animals that are living in Fairfield County. It will help animal control and law enforcement do their jobs.”
The old law, last updated 11 years ago, included only rudimentary definitions of offenses. A version of the ordinance that passed Monday night included several additional provisions, including:
Mandatory reporting of any pet struck by a motor vehicle or bicycle
More detailed definitions of nuisance animals
Pets must be fed at least once a day and have potable water
Tethers must be at least 12 feet long and weigh no more than 15 percent of an animal’s body weight
On tethering, Faulk said she’d like to see it outlawed in its entirety. She also pressed for a $1,000 maximum fine for offenses.
“Our views on tethering remain unchanged,” she said. “We believe it is inhumane for animals to spend their lives on the end of a tether. However, we believe this ordinance provides some much needed guidelines and it’s a start.”
Faulk also called for the use of swing chains as tethers to be outlawed.
Councilman Dan Ruff also pressed for tougher penalties.
“I agree that we should look into raising the fine to $1,000,” he said.
Fairfield County Attorney Tommy Morgan said state law limits fines counties can charge for ordinance violations.
Morgan said the maximum fine allowed in magistrate court for ordinance violations is $500. He noted that state law contains tougher penalties for felony violations, with higher maximums on fines and offenders facing up to five years in prison.
County law enforcement officers have the option of charging felonies under the state’s “Ill Treatment of Animals” cruelty law. Those charges are heard in General Sessions Court.
“In a nutshell, the state restricts counties in what penalties we can put in animal control ordinances,” Council Chairman Billy Smith said.
Smith agreed that he, too, would like the proposed ordinance revised to outlaw swing chains. He also called upon the General Assembly to update its animal abuse laws.
“In my mind if there’s a state provision in law that we’ve addressed, it should be charged under the state provision because there are higher provisions,” Smith added. “We need to push state legislators to draft legislation to that effect.”
Ruff called upon the solicitor’s office to prosecute cases more vigorously.
“I guess we need to encourage our solicitor to prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law,” Ruff said.
Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman couldn’t be reached for comment.
In previous comments, Newman has said it’s unrealistic to expect prison time in every animal abuse case, and that plea bargains are necessary.
“It is simply not possible to go to trial on every case or even a majority of cases,” Newman said in an email to The Voice. “This would cause an even greater delay in justice for victims of crimes, defendants and their families.”
Newman also criticized media coverage of how animal abuse cases are handled.
“You guys get an initial incident report and have the guy tried in the news and guilty before the case is even indicted,” Newman said. “This newspaper seems to be concerned with folks being sentenced to prison.”
A recent investigation by The Voice, which reviewed publicly available court records online, found that virtually none of the Fairfield County animal abuse cases prosecuted by the solicitor’s office resulted in a prison sentence.
“The likelihood of a person with little or no previous record going to prison is very slim,” Newman said.
Final reading of the county’s animal control ordinance is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 10.
