Plans are being made to get dogs adopted that were seized from a Marion County home after the owner surrendered custody at a court hearing Thursday.
Justice Court Judge Gwen Broom assessed Daron Lee of Columbia with a $5,000 charge for the care of the animals by the Columbia Animal Control Center since they were taken in May, and Lee told the judge they could keep the dogs.
“I hope they put the dogs in good homes and in the right hands," Lee said after the hearing.
Police Chief Michael Kelly said afterward that he appreciates it when the justice system works, and he credited the staff at the animal shelter for their dedication.
“These dogs will go to great homes because of my incredible staff,” he said.
Animal Control Officer Danielle Barber said the shelter has been talking to different pit bull rehabilitation centers across the country. Arrangements will be made to send these dogs to the different centers to be rehabilitated to become adoptable.
All of the adoptions will be out of state.
The process had started on May 14 when members of the Southwest Marion Volunteer Fire Department and Marion County Sheriff’s Office responded to a fire call at 974 Pickwick Road in Foxworth. Once the fire was put out, deputies noticed a dog that appeared to be dead and went to investigate. Columbia Animal Control and Rescue Center was called, which led to the seizure of six of the most critical dogs on May 14. On May 18 the animal control workers, along with members of the Columbia Police Department, went back to the scene with a court order and seized the remaining 28 dogs, including seven puppies.
Lee was charged with first-degree arson for allegedly setting a mobile home on fire on the property where the dogs were found. A dispute with an uncle, Lonnell Pittman, over the dogs was the reason for the fire.
At the hearing Thursday that Lee had requested to determine custody of the dogs, Lee said he set the home on fire. The dogs and mobile home were both on land owned by Lee’s grandmother, who died about a month before the event. Lee said his grandmother gave him permission five years ago to put the dogs there. Pittman planned to move into the mobile home, but Lee said his grandmother didn’t want his uncle out there on the land.
Barber said at the hearing that Pittman did not want the dogs behind his trailer and he set some of the dogs loose, causing the dogs to fight. Pittman was originally charged with animal cruelty, but the charge was changed to disorderly conduct, Broom said.
Lee, who represented himself during the hearing, said he had been raising and breeding dogs since he was in the eighth grade. When asked about vaccination records for the animals, he said he did it himself so there are no records. He provided paperwork showing ownership of the dogs, but the paperwork was not legible.
County Prosecuting Attorney Lawrence Hahn presented to Broom multiple pictures of the dogs showing injuries, old and new. Hahn called Barber to testify, and she provided a notebook of information on each dog, including the injuries and any care the dogs received.
Also provided was evidence consistent with dogfighting, such as a ring, treadmill, heavy chains and thick collars with weights. In dog fighting a treadmill is used to build endurance, and heavy chains and weights are used to build up muscles in the front legs and chest.
The Columbia Board of Aldermen had previously established a holding fee of $15 per day per dog, and the cost of holding the dogs in this case had accrued to well over $11,000. Lee would have had to pay before getting the dogs if the judge had granted him custody of the animals again, which she did not and which he said he couldn't afford anyway.
