By DAN KROSSE
It was a busy Valentine’s Day week for Charleston Animal Society, when more than 200 cats and dogs needed rescued in two separate cases. Charleston Animal Society’s Disaster Response Team deployed to Pickens County February 12, to assist with the rescue of 166 dogs living in inhumane conditions.
“With the network of support that our No Kill South Carolina initiative has built, the goal is to help in situations like these, so they don’t overwhelm one organization,” said Charleston Animal Society Vice President of Operations and Strategy Aldwin Roman, CAWA. “In this case, we teamed up with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, Pickens County Animal Control and Anderson County PAWS.”
35 of the retriever mixes were brought to Charleston Animal Society and were assessed by the shelter’s AAHA- accredited Veterinary Team. Many of the dogs and puppies were then placed in foster homes until they can be adopted in about two weeks. The rescues include 16 adult dogs and 19 puppies, some with their mothers.
“Dozens of other dogs were sent to Anderson PAWS and the Pickens Animal Shelter,” Roman said. “No charges are expected to be filed in this case. It involved a woman who thought she was doing the right thing but became overwhelmed when the dogs began breeding. However, the cost of caring for these animals now falls on the organizations rescuing them.”
44 CATS RESCUED IN NORTH CHARLESTON
Simultaneously, Charleston Animal Society worked with North Charleston Animal Control, to rescue almost three dozen cats from an unsafe situation.
“We had a person who was taking in feral cats but became overwhelmed because none of the cats were spayed or neutered,” said Charleston Animal Society Chief Lifesaving Officer Pearl Sutton. “If you want to help with feral cats, please come ask for one of our humane traps. We can then spay or neuter the cat, vaccinate him or her and then return them to their area, where they can safely live their lives outdoors.” Kittens and adult cats were examined by Charleston Animal Society’s Veterinary team.
If you can adopt or foster, please come to the shelter. “There is a sense of urgency about adopting the animals currently in our shelter because we need to make room for the animals we just rescued,” Sutton said.