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DoraToday, marks six weeks since shots rang out in Chesterfield SC, killing as many as 22 dogs, and yet to date no arrests have been made, no criminal charges have been filed and the men accused of these reprehensible acts remain on PAID administrative leave.
Yes.  Paid.  After viciously murdering animals, they can sit home, basically on vacation, and get paid for it.
Sheriff Sam Parker’s office, which oversees the Chesterfield Shelter, initiated the investigation. So here we have the department that is directly connected with running the operation investigating themselves.  Nice, right?
Well,  YOU didn’t think so, and thanks to your calls and outrage, Governor Nikki Haley’s office stepped in and asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to takeover. SLED was asked to lead the investigation and turn over their findings to the Attorney General’s (AG) office.  Great, right?  Welllll, not so fast….read on.
On March 31 when the investigation was “complete” and the findings turned over to the Attorney General for review, it appears almost NONE of the KEY people responsible for calling attention to this were even interviewed!!  That includes the volunteer who first unearthed the bodies of these animals, the 4 animal control officers accused of these crimes,  the eye witnesses who came forward regarding the abuses they witnessed at the shelter, and none of the evidence of dog fighting was ever examined.
SAY WHAT??
How in the world does an investigation go on without any of the KEY players being interviewed?  Look, I’m not a law enforcement person, I don’t even play one on TV, but I do watch cop shows and admittedly that is the extent of my “vast” police knowledge, but it seems to me that watching even the most inept police departments and detectives on TV, they STILL seem to interview people that SAW a crime or KNOW about a crime.  Yet SLED doesn’t appear to have done ANY of that.  Hmmm.
It is becoming increasingly clear that SLED, an organization that Sheriff Parker was member of for over 20 years, is not interested in thoroughly investigating the massacre and abuse of these animals, or  holding anyone accountable for these despicable and horrendous acts.  The “Old Boys Club” back at work?
However, at the request of the AG – at least THEY seem to have some common sense, SLED has been instructed to REOPEN their investigation and conduct official interviews with four animal control officers, asking if they participated or directed anyone to participate in the unlawful shooting of dogs. The agents were also asked to look into reports of dog-fighting-related activities at the shelter.
Well.  That’s a start.
What a shame that SLED has no experience in investigations that they did not realize they should do this!  Or…oh my…no, it couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that the Sheriff that they are possibly investigating was a member there for 20 years, could it?  Nah.  That would be WRONG, so that can’t be it.
OK, so we talked about how inept the investigation has been so far and how little they actually care at all about this.  I can even imagine them saying “Hey, look, the internet people all got pissy, so let’s pretend to look into this and it’ll all die down”. (That’s what Ed Sayres said about Oreo, remember?  Hey, – how’s that working for YOU Ed?)
But most importantly, what has happened to the animals at the Chesterfield Shelter in the past six weeks?
I can tell you.
NOTHING good.
chesterfield_pups_springfestHere are some of the “nothing good”:

  1. The volunteers of Paws and Claws, the rescue that has worked at the shelter for over 15 years, have been locked out and told that their services are no longer required.
  2. Sheriff’s deputies have been tasked with running the shelter while the ACOs are on leave and animals are now being either given away or sold for a dollar. Yes. Not adopted. SOLD. For a dollar.
  3. The animals are NOT getting vaccinated or fixed. They are going out into the community without vaccines, unaltered and have already begun to pop up on Craigslist for resale.  I’m sure lots and lots of puppies are not too far behind, and lots are likely going to labs or dog fighting rings….as either fighters or bait dogs.
  4. At a recent event in Cheraw, SC, one of the animal control vehicles was parked at the side of the road leading into the event with a box of puppies and a handmade sign “for sale” displayed.

The end of this nightmare is nowhere in sight and it is clear that those in charge would be happy to see this swept under the rug and things to “go back to normal”.
So do we have to sit back and accept this?
OH COME ON!  YOU KNOW ME BETTER THAN THAT BY NOW!
Heck no. We are gonna bombard them with calls again and remind them that THE NATION IS WATCHING AND WE WILL NOT TOLERATE OUR ANIMALS BEING TREATED LIKE THIS!  We will remind them that when an animal winds up in a shelter it is because they need and are asking for HELP. NOT ABUSE AND MURDER.  Remind them that THEY work for US. And that WE care about our nation’s animals!
Now more than ever we must stand together and fight to bring justice for the animals killed and to fight to ensure lasting change for this shelter and the many high kill shelters scattered throughout SC. Without an independent group appointed to oversee these shelters the suffering will never end. The men responsible for these crimes need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and we must demand an end to the lawlessness.
What can you do?

  1. Call the Attorney General Alan Wilson and remind him of his instructions to SLED to interview ALL key witnesses. To date, that hasn’t happened. 803-734-3970 or online http://www.scattorneygeneral.org/ag/contactform.html
  2. Call Governor Nikki Haley (803)734-2100 grassroots@nikkihaley.com and Lieutenant Governor Ken Ard (803) 734-2080 LtGovernor@scstatehouse.gov
  3. Participate in person or online – SC Animal Awareness Day in Memory of the Chesterfield 22 and in Honor of all animals suffering in SC shelters Thursday, April 21, 2011 from 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM (ET) http://scawareness.eventbrite.com/
  4. Sign this petition at Change.org http://www.change.org/petitions/hold-chesterfield-co-shelter-accountable-for-shooting-dogs-and-other-abuse-charges

Below is a list of the many laws that have been broken or ignored at Chesterfield, visit http://on.fb.me/fjFx56 for more details and news stories.
LAWS BROKEN OR IGNORED AT CHESTERFIELD
(NOTE – PLEASE DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU ARE EASILY UPSET.  STOP HERE AND JUST PLEASE MAKE THE CALLS ABOVE. Below is not a nice read. If you have doubts though, or want more information, read on…but I am warning you that some of the details are graphic and they are NOT necessary for you to read in order understand and make the calls we need. Please make those calls. Write those letters. The dogs are counting on you to help.  YOU ARE ALL THEY HAVE.)
1. Dogs were shot as a euthanasia solution. State law clearly states that a dog may only be shot in an emergency such as a safety threat (an example would be rabies), to prevent suffering, or to stop an openly aggressive dog.
SECTION 47-3-420. Allowable methods of euthanasia . [SC ST SEC 47-3-420]
(3) Shooting: Shooting may be used as a means of euthanasia only in an emergency situation to prevent extreme suffering or in which the safety of people or other animal life is threatened or where it is considered necessary by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to eliminate or control the population of feral animals.
landfilldogsThe dogs shot at Chesterfield were gentle, and were walked on leashes to the landfill where they were shot. One witness who previously worked at the shelter was practically in tears as he described one dog sitting on its haunches panting and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds as it waited to die. This witness NEVER saw an animal euthanized by injection. The same witness described cats being hit with iron pipes.
2. The shelter manager, Brian Burch, is a convicted felon who served time for drug charges. (Burch was sentenced to 3 years and a $10,000 fine in 1996 for distribution of cocaine. He did receive a pardon in 2000.)
3. The gas chamber at Chesterfield was disabled last year for safety reasons. It did not pass a safety inspection. (Sheriff Sam Parker told FOX news that the shelter adopted a lethal injection policy “about a year ago.”) Shelter workers were then certified to euthanize by injection. The drug supposedly bought for this purpose was Ketamine, a drug which is not approved by the FDA for use in dogs It is NOT a euthanasia drug, but it IS a popular street drug, commonly called “Special K.” What happened to the Ketamine? The shelter provided FOX with records indicating they’ve purchased 3 bottles of Euthasol – which is a euthanasia drug, but veterinary experts have indicated that 3 bottles of Euthasol would not be enough to handle the volume of animals moving through the Chesterfield shelter over a 12 month period.   The Chesterfield Co. Sheriff’s office provided FOX with drug records that show three drug orders in the last 12 months and several drug logs. The drug logs appeared to reflect inconsistencies as to how the drugs were administered, i.e. the same doses for 20 dogs, despite weight differences.
spilledblood4. The landfill where the dead animals were discovered. SC Department of Health and Environmental Control had made it clear that animal bodies could not be dumped there. The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control confirmed and FOX reported that the area is an “un-permitted landfill” and that the Sheriff’s office had been made aware long before this case started that animals could not be dumped there. DHEC then “reminded” the shelter again after the dead dogs were discovered.
5. Several witnesses told of pit bulls having signs on their cages saying “Hold for Brian Burch.” The only reasonable assumption is that these dogs were slated for fighting. The one tag FOX has a picture of says “Hold For Brian Burch and Frank Laney (Brian’s predecessor as shelter manager).” One witness also told FOX that when she asked to see “game dogs,” she was led to the pit bulls and an inmate working at the shelter set up an impromptu dog fight to show her how aggressive one of the dogs was and how it would “make her some money.”  The witness says the inmate threw a smaller, mixed breed dog in with the pit and the pit killed the dog in front of her. The witness also says she saw numerous pit bulls with tags on their kennels that said “Hold for Brian Burch.”
Enough?  Yes. Enough. I’m sick. And angry. and my heart is wounded and hurt and I’ve got tears in my eyes as I type this.  I can’t bear it.  Can you?  Let’s put a stop to this.  Are you ready?  Then pick up the phone, make those calls and write those letters.
R.I.P. sweet Dora and all the others.  We’re coming for these vicious people and we’re not going to let them get away with it.  I promise you all. WE promise you.

YOU ARE ALL THEY HAVE.

DO SOMETHING.

(Thank you Jude for pulling all of this together for me)

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