Conway couple ordered to pay restitution, clean up their home after 37 dogs seized

A Conway magistrate seized 37 dogs, including some show dogs and one that was recognized at the Westminster Kennel Club, from a couple, ordered them to pay $3,160 in restitution to the Horry County Animal Care Center and clean up their home in the next 30 days.

Eduardo Chaviano and his wife, Amber, appeared Wednesday before Magistrate Bradley Mayers on a charge of improper care and treatment of animals after the dogs and two birds were found living in deplorable conditions.

Eduardo Chaviano pleaded guilty to the charge, but Mayers said he would not fine the man if he paid the restitution and cleaned up his home.

Mayers reduced the restitution by half from what county officials were seeking, but warned Eduardo Chaviano that he could go to jail for 30 days if he did not follow Mayers’ orders.

The couple must return before Mayers in 30 days to discuss their progress and to see if the birds will be returned to them. Mayers also told the couple officers will be doing welfare checks at the home periodically and that he can not prevent them from having more dogs but they will be monitored.

Looking at photos of the dogs, which had matted coats, and photos Horry County Animal Control officers took of the inside of the home that included feces and urine covering the floor, Mayers said he was at a loss for words.

“Some of these photos, it looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in months, if not years,” Mayers said.

Eduardo Chaviano said it had been between four and five months since the home had been properly cleaned, so “it’s accumulated for a while.”

Holding a photo of dog hair clinging to the ceiling inside the home, Mayers said, “I’m having a hard time believing that.”

The seizure came one day after officers took 146 dogs from another Conway home where police said a puppy mill was operated. Those dogs are being adopted at the animal center and by a Pawleys Island rescue group.

Horry County animal control officers went to the Chaviano home on March 5 after they received an anonymous complaint about many dogs living in deplorable conditions, Officer Earl Ward said. The person had been to the home and saw the animals.

The Chavianos said the person was last at their home eight months ago, but police said they investigated the tip as soon as they received it.

When officers arrived March 5, Amber Chaviano met them at the door and refused to allow the officers inside, Ward said. Eduardo Chaviano was called and he told officers he would be there that afternoon and arrived about 4:30 p.m.

But when Eduardo Chaviano got there, he also refused to allow officers inside, so they sought a search warrant, Ward said. Once inside the home, Ward said they found 37 dogs and two birds. Some dogs were being held in cages and others were running freely in conditions that would “take your breath,” Ward said.

“Accumulated feces and urine throughout the house and feces in the cages that hadn’t been cleaned in some time,” Ward said during Wednesday’s hearing.

The dogs were taken to the Horry County Animal Control Center that day and have been kept there until Wednesday’s hearing.

The dogs will continued to be groomed and given medical care and will later be made available for adoption, said Kelly Bonome, the center’s operations manager. She said there are two or three dogs that were at least 15 years old while the youngest dog taken from the Chaviano home was about a year old.

“They’ve lived many months in unsatisfactory conditions. They’ve not been groomed in several months,” Bonome told Mayers during the hearing. “These are not the show dogs she says they are.”

One dog suffers from some neurological issues, and another has a heart murmur, but most of the dogs were in decent health, Bonome said. They did suffer from not being groomed and skin irritations, and some had eye and dental issues as well as ear infections.

Amber Chaviano told Mayers the dogs were her show dogs and were AKC registered. She said the couple moved from Florida with 26 dogs and they had a litter of puppies after moving here.

Eduardo Chaviano told Mayers the couple had since “hosed it all down” and cleaned the home, but in looking at recent photos of the house taken by police during a followup, Mayers said the couple needed to continue to clean and make improvements.

“I can’t see giving you back an animal until you get that house in order. I don’t see how you could live there, much less the animals,” Mayers said. “It’s almost to the point where your house should be condemned or abated. I cannot with a clear conscious give the animals back.”

Mayers said that none looked like show dogs from their photos of matted fur stained with urine and feces. He noted a photo of a plaque that showed Amber Chaviano had received a merit award in 2004 with one of the dogs from the Westminster Kennel Club.

Amber Chaviano asked to have that dog, a Lhasa Apso named Tygerlily, and a few more returned to the couple. She said she let the dogs’ hair grow for the winter and they were about to get a summer hair cut.

“I have yet to see a dog in this entire 37 dogs that are a show-dog quality or even close,” Mayers said.

Amber Chaviano said she had showed a Tibetan terrier last year, which was among the dogs seized. She also noted they had taken in two Shar Pei dogs from a rescue in Georgia.

Bonome said the rescue group had contacted the shelter about getting those two dogs returned to them. She said the two birds were in good health and the shelter will hold them until the next court hearing.

“They are very talkative. They can bark. They can quote phrases,” Bonome said of the birds, which are 16 and 21 years old.

A group of several women attended Wednesday’s hearing and they said they plan to lobby local and state governments for stricter laws to protect animals.

“I’m so happy to see the court taking a stand and that the animals came out ahead,” said Ann Taylor, a Myrtle Beach resident. “We are smiling again.”

Carol Duty, an Horry County resident, said she had wished there was a way to prevent the couple from having other animals.

“I think the judge was fair. It was painful to see the conditions the dogs were living in,” Duty said.

Bonome said she was glad the cases like the Chavianos’ were being highlighted because it brings in more tips to authorities about animal abuse.

If you’re living in a municipality such as Myrtle Beach, Conway or Surfside Beach, call your police department for help with animal issues or to report abuse.

If you’re living in an unincorporated area of Horry County, call an environmental control officer at an Horry County police precinct or 248-1520. The officers are on duty from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and are on call for emergencies after hours.

For information about adopting a dog or other animal, call the Horry County Animal Care Center at 915-5171.

This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Conway couple ordered to pay restitution, clean up their home after 37 dogs seized."