30 dogs, cats found dead in animal rescue CEO's home

Authored by fox29.com and submitted by joecam

South Carolina authorities said they have arrested the CEO of a local animal rescue non-profit after they found multiple dogs and cats dead inside her home.

Richland County deputies said Caroline Dawn Pennington, 47, was arrested after she turned herself in this month. She's charged with thirty counts of ill-treatment of animals.

Investigators said on May 22, they responded to a welfare check at her home in Columbia after a caller stated there was a "smell of death" emitting from her residence.

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Once deputies arrived, they found 28 dogs and two cats decomposing and located in cages and crates. They believe the animals have been deceased for a significant amount of time and died due to dehydration and starvation.

"They were lying in their own waste and it is believed that they died in the cages and had not been moved prior to being discovered," authorities said in a statement to FOX Television Stations.

"It’s appalling and it’s heartbreaking," Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in a statement. "This is someone who was entrusted by the community to care for these animals and find them homes. She betrayed that trust and she betrayed the trust of these innocent animals who relied on her."

Lott called this one of the worst cases of animal cruelty he’s ever seen.

Pennington is the CEO and Director of a non-profit animal rescue named GROWL. Authorities said she was also employed by the Kershaw County Humane Society.

GROWL is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Investigators ask that anyone who has made documented donations to GROWL in the last 12 months contact the sheriff's office.

Pennington was booked at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.

fetustasteslikechikn on June 6th, 2022 at 09:58 UTC »

There are some absolutely fucked up and terrible people involved in animal rescue. My malinois is a rescue, and his unfortunate soul had to endure some horrible shit while being boarded. The stupid assholes running a kennel and training group used a bark collar to the point he had open abscesses on his neck, and scabs from what appears to be pinch collar misuse. The stupid cunt blamed me for the injuries at first, and after a month of drama my best buddy was in his forever home, and those horrible people were forever removed from any ties to the rescue organization.

Fuck I hate people.

JuliaLouis-DryFist on June 6th, 2022 at 07:42 UTC »

I visited a puppy mill as a child once with my stepsister and stepmother in the 90's. She was really wanting a dachshund as they are her favorite dog. None of us had any idea what we were in for.

We toured the facility and it was basically just an abandoned house with soooo many puppies just running amok. My sister and I were excited about the puppies and a bit weirded out because the house was disgusting with holes in the walls and random mattesses and just grime and dirt and shit everywhere. In another room, we heard a loud bang and puppies yelping. A huge wood plank that was leaning against a wall fell. I dont know if any of the dogs were hurt. The whole time, I noticed a look of concern on my stepmoms face. I think she just wanted to see the extent of it.

She thanked them and said she would make her decision later. And then we went home and she immediately called the police.

Edit: So many people do not seem to understand that this happened in the 90s. We did not have mobile phones. We did not have the internet or a computer in our house at the time because we were not wealthy. We did not know everything all the time like we do now. If my stepmom knew what we were getting into, she would have just called the proper authorities and wouldnt have gone there. She loves animals and is a lifelong educator. Please stop trying to make my stepmother a villain, she has a good heart.

Here is an article of what I'm like 93% sure is the house I went to because I grew up there and it was the 90s. As you can see, they were arrested. The story is heartbreaking though so brace yourself:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1998-11-14-9811140240-story.html

Doc_Almond on June 6th, 2022 at 05:17 UTC »

A few years back in my hometown we had a lady who also rescued animals. She then suddenly left town and the bank foreclosed on the building she bought. When the city went to go check out the building they found over a hundred bags filled with animal carcasses (dogs and cats) of all of the animals she “rescued.”

Edit: (Just wanted to add a bit more context considering the many replies) My hometown is a small border town where very few things even get out to the news let alone our local newspaper. The lady whom I speak of originally had a smaller building rented out 2 years prior to the incident on the main strip that used to be what was known as downtown back in the day. However, no one really seemed to walk in unless they were dropping off a pet which was the most heartbreaking. I say this because more and more cages seemed to fill than empty from what I could see from the window.