Horry County police seize about 120 dogs at Conway area home

Police shut down a puppy mill Wednesday morning, seizing about 120 dogs that were living in deplorable conditions, according to Lt. Raul Denis of Horry County police.

He said Horry County police seized about 120 animals at a home in Conway. The dogs were living in cages without proper food or water and were covered in feces.

Officers received a tip Wednesday morning about a person who had been breeding a large number of animals and they went to investigate the incident, Denis said. Officers took possession of the animals from the home, which was located in the 6000 block of Secondary Highway 65, which is between U.S. 701 North and S.C. 22.

It took police about five hours to collect all the animals, Denis said.

“They were in pretty bad shape when we found them, but overall they’re all pretty healthy,” Denis said. “We don’t expect to keep them [at the shelter] for long.”

All animals were taken to the Horry County Animal Care Center in Conway where staff processed every dog. The animals will be cleaned, vaccinated, neutered or spayed and given heartworm tests before they are put up for adoption, which should be about a week, Denis said.

The woman who owned the dogs, who police have not identified, surrendered all the dogs immediately, Denis said. He said she had not been formally charged Wednesday.

“We didn’t have to force her,” Denis said. “When we showed up, she said she had too many animals and asked us for help.”

Most of the seized dogs were adult mating pairs, but a few dogs were pregnant and some puppies were found as well, Denis said. Luckily, the animal center has enough room to house the dogs until they are given permanenthomes.

“It was good that we found them today, because the shelter had some open space,” Denis said. “It’s going to be quite an impact on the shelter for a little while.”

Shelter staff referred all questions to Denis.

Donations of food, beds and money are always accepted. To learn how to help, contact the shelter at 915-5172 or visit http://www.horrycounty.org/Departments/AnimalCareCenter.aspx.

“Thanks to the volunteers that are helping today, the shelter really has everything covered,” Denis said.

Denis said she’ll face charges of animal cruelty, which is a misdemeanor.

This story was originally published March 4, 2015 at 2:15 PM.