Horry County police seize nearly 30 thin, chained dogs in Longs: report

Nearly 30 dogs and several chickens were seized by Horry County Police Department as officers executed a search warrant in Longs last week, police records state.

HCPD went to Moore Road about 7 a.m. June 3 for a search warrant. Officers heard a noise in the woods and found a “large amount” of dogs chained up in two separate spots, a police report states.

In one spot, four dogs were chained on short tethers and appeared thin, police said. In the second spot, police say they found 18 dogs that were also chained on short tethers and looked thin.

Police responded hours later to McNeil Chapel Road in Longs, where they found chickens and seven dogs, a report states.

“I observed five Pit-bull mix breeds that were tethered with heavy chains,” the report reads. “Some chains appeared short and some were tangled up … All of the dogs appeared skinny and I was able to see the rib cages clearly thru their skin. All of the dogs had fleas and bugs all over them.”

The report states a female dog who was not chained appeared to have dried blood on her fur.

Police said the dogs’ water bucket had dirty water and neither the chickens or the dogs had food.

All of the animals were taken to Horry County Animal Care Center, which was forced to briefly shut down due to the large amount of animals seized. The center has since reopened.

“These are technically two separate incidents, but they occurred during a warrant service, during which the animals were discovered on two separate properties in close proximity to one another,” Aaron Spelbring, Horry County’s FOIA manager, said in an email. 

As of Tuesday, police said no arrests have been made in connection to the incidents. Both police reports list suspects, but that information was redacted.