The body of the young female black labrador mix was found abandoned Sunday with his muzzle wrapped in duct tape on Yale Street near Salley. The dog appeared to have starved to death and was dumped.
“It deceased after. It succumbed from starvation and dehydration probably. The reason we think that is because of the scratch marks on the tape, where the dog was probably clawing at the tape,” said James Les Porter, Director of Orangeburg County Animal Control.
The Humane Society of the United States is offering the $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
The Orangeburg County Animal Control Officer says it appears the duct tape was wrapped at least 15 times around the dog's muzzle. Investigators are processing the duct tape with hopes of lifting fingerprints.
Dawn Barr and her husband spotted the dog Sunday while driving on the road.
"I was absolutely horrified because as we got closer to the dog, you can tell that the dog had been starved," Barr said. "That he was emaciated and you can see his bones and just with that white tape around his mouth, I was just like, 'Oh my gosh.'
"We both looked at each other and was like who would do something like this? This is jut pure evil," Barr said.
Angry at what they saw, the Barrs posted the picture on Facebook hoping to track down the abuser. The post made its way to Les Porter, the county director of Animal Control. He says in his eight years, this is the first time he's seen this type of animal abuse in the county.
"Whoever did this wanted this dog to die," Porter said. "It looked to us like it starved to death. I don't know why somebody would take the time to duct tape a dead dog's mouth shut, so that leaves us to believe the dog was still alive when this was done to it."
The community is coming together to find who’s responsible and has started a Go Fund Me to raise money for an information reward.
The South Carolina chapter of the National Humane Society Is also offering a $5,000 reward for an information leading to a suspect.
Anyone with information about the case should call 803-534-0045.
(WBTV - June 21, 2016)
