SOUTH CAROLINA -- Callie Abel, who pleaded guilty to seven (7) charges of ill treatment of animals after her Edgefield County property was raided, says she always fed and cared for her animals, and that she never neglected them. She says that she doesn’t believe she should have faced those charges.
Abel says that she is a messy person, but that that doesn’t make her a bad person. She says this experience has shattered her faith in the justice system, as well as her childhood dream.
“I grew up in a home where everything was ‘America’s great, the land of opportunity, you’re innocent until proven guilty,’” she says. “This flies in the face of all of that to me.”
“The first 101 Dalmatians movie came out when I was a child,” she says. “They say, ‘I have a Dalmatian plantation where all our population can roam.’ That’s what I wanted, was to have a farm where I could have all these dogs and horses and goats and chickens and cats, and I just loved animals. That’s what I wanted to do, and that’s what I thought I was doing.”
She says she was never previously convicted of so much as a traffic ticket, much less ill treatment of animals charges.
Abel says she did have dozens of dogs too many.
“Sure, I had too many dogs,” she says, “but the reason I had too many dogs, all with food and water and shelter, is I’m totally paranoid about giving dogs away.”
But, Abel says that the Humane Society videos were a sensational set-up.
“This was so scripted,” she says. “They came out with news crews, camera crews, and less than 48 hours later, they had this video with dramatic music. That’s not a raid; that’s a frame job.”
In the video, a volunteer holds up a bone from the property and says that whatever animal the bone came from obviously died a horrible death; he continues saying that at least the other animals are being rescued before it happens to them too.
Frankie Maddox processes deer, and seeing the video says the bones are deer bones, something he gave to Callie Abel by the 55 gallon barrel.
Abel says the raw bones are a strong source of protein and calcium for her dogs. She says they weren’t living a posh, pampered life, but that that’s the basis of the breeding business.
“If people who are pet owners come into a kennel situation, they’re horrified because they dogs are in pens,” she says.
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| Bones found on the property. A vet, on scene, said they were NOT deer bones. |
She says the only dogs in raised pens were recently born pups, and that that was for their own protection.
“I mean all dogs eat dirt when they have the opportunity to,” she says. “When they’re young, it’s a heavy worm burden. It’s easier and better to keep them out of the dirt until they’re eight or 10 weeks old and have a natural immunity built up.
And, she says that not one of the animals lived their entire lives balancing on wire.
Abel says her animals were healthy: “All seven warrants said they had fleas and ear mites,” she says, “gee whiz. My vehicle was in front of the vet clinic three days out of five. If anything was wrong, I ran up there immediately. My file there looks like the Augusta phone book.”
And, she says the animals were happy when they left her property; she says they weren’t shaking and scared then. But, she says she knows that most people won’t believe her.
“I’d like to think so,” she says, “but don’t think it will change anybody’s mind. They see what they’ve seen, and that’s slanted to portray me as the devil. Even if I rushed into a burning school building tomorrow and saved the lives of 10 children, I’d still be the devil to most people.”
Abel says that that hurts.
“But, there’s nothing I can do about it,” she says, “and the only one I have to be good with is the Lord.”
(WJBF - October 8, 2012)
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