Porcupine injures Conway man’s dogs. Where did the non-native animal come from?

Blake Allen, a Conway resident, rushed his dogs Bo and Jack to the emergency vet last Wednesday before dawn after finding a stick-like object lodged between Bo’s snout. Jack, with about a dozen puncture wounds, looked like he’d gotten in a fight.

“I’m thinking foul play, you know, some evil person has stabbed my dog with a pencil or pen,” Allen said.

The culprit? A porcupine.

The receptionist at the emergency vet immediately recognized the object was actually a porcupine quill. Allen said the vet was astonished and had never seen or heard of such a thing in the area.

He was relieved to know it wasn’t a human threat, but he’s now wary of letting his dogs outside at night. He made a post on Facebook to warn others in the area to look out for their pets. He wasn’t the first to spot the critter.

Porcupines are non-native to South Carolina as North American porcupines are found in states north and out west, but Conway residents have caught African porcupines in their neighborhoods and on trail cameras dozens of times over the last year.

Commenters on the Facebook post said they have seen them near Pauley Swamp Road in Conway and even in Bucksport.

Conway resident Jason Gore said he’s tracked a porcupine on his trail camera near Pitch Landing Road and Pauley Swamp Road since September. He has set raccoon traps since January trying to catch it, but the animal was too large for the trap. He said he is unsure what he will do with the animal if it’s caught.

He’s never seen two at the same time on tape, but he’s convinced there are more than one in the area as he’s seen posts of sightings in multiple areas that were a good distance apart.

“There’s no way they could be the same one,” Gore said.

Anna Huckabee Smith, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources certified wildlife biologist, said by email that this is not the first time the agency has heard of African porcupines showing up in Horry County and other parts of the state.

Several years ago a porcupine was hit by a car in Florence County, Smith said. SCDNR saw trail camera footage in Conway from January of a roaming African porcupine and pictures of shed quills.

Since porcupines are non-native to South Carolina, SCDNR does not have jurisdiction over them, and they are not protected by state regulations, Smith said.

“The homeowner has the right to deal with the animal as they deem necessary to protect their pets and property,” Smith said by email.

Where could the porcupine have come from?

The roaming porcupine likely was released or escaped from captivity, Smith said.

Wild Woods Farm, an exotic animal farm located on Dongola Highway in Conway, has five African porcupines.

Allen said he called Wild Woods Farm asking if the porcupine belonged to them, hoping he could help trap and return the animal safely, but it was not one of the farm’s.

Tina Kramer, owner of Wild Woods Farm, told The Sun News that a few years ago the farm did have an escaped albino porcupine. But as for the porcupine that injured Allen’s dogs, it was not one of the zoo’s.

“All of ours are accounted for,” Kramer said Friday.

Smith said anyone dealing with an African porcupine should be cautious of their quills. They have barbs that recurve, making it difficult to remove. Smith advised dog owners to take their pets to a licensed veterinarian for sterile removal of quills.