Local SC Government Officials - Educate Public On Stray Dogs & Animal Cruelty!

Please sign and share this petition in an effort to get the local South Carolina Government Officials to implement a mandatory program that will educate their public about the laws surrounding stray animals and required punishment for animal cruelty. Most often people try to intervene without the assistance of animal control when it comes to stray dogs, often taking the law into their own hands. We surely want to help strays and animal abuse but need to encourage people to follow proper protocol when saving unfortunate creatures like the abused, stray animals.

Hollywood, S.C. has some issues with stray dogs and animal abuse. Authorities find it quite common to be addressing animal cruelty cases. With the stray dog problems, people take things into their own hands such as the recent shooting of a dog that was roaming the neighborhood. Shortly thereafter, another little dog, who was just playing with a neighbor was shot. The woman stated that "It was like a playful little type dog. But it used to always run right back down the road." The poor dog they named Dara suffered several gunshot wounds.

Animal control of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office are not surprised by the constant stray dog concerns and the resulting animal cruelty. They say that "It is a very rural area. So sometimes dogs can be taken as a nuisance in that area. So it's not uncommon for these things to happen out in the country you could say." But it should not be.

It has been a practice of officers capturing and rescuing the stray dogs to keep them out of harm's way.   However, some authorities believe "If they have a problem just call the law. Call the dog catcher. Besides harming them, just call somebody to come pick them up." When folks decide to take the law into their own hands, in such a case of harming animals rather than helping them or calling authorities to do so, it is a case of animal cruelty with a conviction of a felony.

People are not aware of how to handle stray dogs; just consider them a nuisance that they think will help by killing the poor defenseless animals. We are trying to encourage the local government to implement a mandatory program that will educate their public about the laws surrounding stray animals and required punishment for animal cruelty. If the community could work together, there could be better outcomes for the strays, possibly to the point of lessening these concerns. Please help us reach our goals and be a voice for those without one.