Hilton Head man charged after dogs found chained and shivering on cold rainy day

A Hilton Head Island man was charged with three counts of animal cruelty Friday after deputiesd found three dogs chained in a yard during the cold and rain.

An anonymous caller alerted deputies of possible animal cruelty around 9:30 p.m., according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report. The address of the home was redacted from the report.

When they arrived, deputies found an adult male dog chained to a post in the side yard. The dog did not have shelter, food or water. Two more dogs were chained behind an SUV near small dog houses, but also did not have food or water, the report said.

The temperature was 43 degrees with a wind chill of 37 degrees as rain fell.

“The dogs on scene were unable to get out of the water puddles around them due to being on extremely short chains,” one deputy wrote in the report. “All three dogs were whining, whimpering and shivering from the cold weather.”

The dog’s owner came out of the residence and “became belligerent” with deputies.

When deputies attempted to explain the need to take the dogs inside, the man allegedly told them to leave his property and that they would need a warrant to speak with him again. Deputies continued their attempt to speak with the man and he went inside after “yelling profanities” at them.

While deputies waited on an animal control officer to arrive, the man came back outside and took one of the dogs inside and once again told the deputies to leave.

“(The man) stated officers needed to leave the property and threatened to release the dog if officers did not leave,” the report said. “(The man) took his dog and went back inside while stating he was going to call 911 and then call his attorney.”

As the man took the remaining two dogs inside, the animal control officer arrived. The man agreed to speak with law enforcement and said he took care of his dogs and that deputies needed to leave his property.

When asked his name, the man gave a different date of birth and told deputies to “figure out the rest of the information on their own.”

The man was detained for failing to cooperate with officers.

The animal control officer said that because the dogs were inside at the time of his arrival, he would follow up on Saturday and Monday to ensure that the dogs were being properly cared for and that their vaccinations were up to date.

The man was taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Hilton Head man charged after dogs found chained and shivering on cold rainy day."