Proposed county ordinance provides tools to crack down on puppy mills

Horry County is working to crack down on puppy mills after a string of incidents earlier this year.

An updated ordinance designed to help regulate puppy mills, kitty mills and other small animal issues in Horry County will likely make the agenda of the County Council’s Oct. 6 meeting, putting it one step closer to becoming law.

The proposed Small Animal Management provisions would allow the county to take a “reasonable approach to such operations while maintaining the freedom of individual animal owners,” said Horry County Councilman Al Allen, who also is chairman of the county’s Public Safety Committee. The committee talked about the plan Monday.

“We needed to have a tool in the toolbox for officers so they have something they can use to address these types of operations in the county,” Allen said.

The proposed amendments identify a puppy or kitten mill as an operation that puts profit from sales above the welfare of the animals.

Horry County spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said the changes are being considered to better monitor dog and cat breeding operations.

“We didn’t really have anything that separated an individual from a breeder,” she said. Now the proposed ordinance specifies anyone with 25 or more cats or dogs for sale in a 365-day period will be considered a breeder. Exempted organizations would include animal shelters, humane societies and other animal rescue organizations as well as operations regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The changes allow an animal control officer to inspect breeding locations and sales operations or stores. It also prohibits anyone from selling the animals under the age of 8 weeks and requires all the animals have inoculations by a veterinarian.

The changes come after several complaints led Horry County control officers to remove animals from three locations in a one-month period earlier this year.

On March 5, 146 dogs were removed from a puppy mill at the Conway home of Pet Safari owner Renee James. James was charged with failing to provide proper care and treatment of the animals that police say were living in deplorable conditions that included outdoor stacked cages with mesh floors.

Fined $445, she filed a restraining order seeking to get the animals returned and later dropped it so the animals could be adopted through the Horry County Animal Care Center.

The day after those animals were removed from James’ home, officers received a tip that led them to another Conway home where 37 dogs and two birds were removed. Eduardo and Amber Chaviano were ordered to pay restitution to the Horry County Animal Care Center in the amount of $3,160 and were given 30 days to clean up their home.

In late March, Janie Waddel of Loris was cited for violating the county animal care and treatment ordinance, as well as the litter accumulation ordinance and the rabies ordinance. She was fined $1,850. Nineteen of her 37 dogs were removed from her home.

The removal of the animals placed a burden on the animal care center. Care Center Director Garry Gause said the center is there to make the best decisions for the animals once they are there. However, he added that caring for the animals rescued from puppy mills comes at a cost to the county covering the expense of medical evaluations and medicines. He said once the ordinance amendments become law, it will provide a strong deterrence to such problems.

“Certainly the change in the law will cut down on the puppy mills,” Gause said. “The animal care center is here to help, but our concern is that a shelter is not the best place for pets.”

Bourcier said that new guidelines under the care and treatment section of the current ordinance now address sheltering animals in stacked cages with wire mesh bottoms.

“What we found in some of the recent cases were conditions that were just inhumane,” Bourcier said.

If the ordinance is approved, violators would face up to a $500 fine or 30 days in jail per infraction, plus the potential to lose their business license, Bourcier said.

This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Proposed county ordinance provides tools to crack down on puppy mills."