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COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Nearly a dozen Springer Spaniels are in need of forever homes after Colleton County Animal Services and English Springer Rescue America rescued them from a Walterboro home Thursday.

A press release from Colleton County Animal Services states they received a call that 12 dogs weren’t receiving proper care. One was found dead at the home and the others are now getting much-needed care.

Kate Kiel with the English Springer Rescue is caring for several of them. She was there when they were removed from the home on Thursday.

“None of the dogs were aggressive. They were just so frightened and backing up when we spoke to them. They were all behind two different fences. A couple of them were inside the home,” Kiel, Co-Coordinator of English Springer Rescue says.

Animal services say these cases are becoming more common.

“Sadly, they have been more common in the last two years. This is the sixth case that we’ve had in 2024 where a breeder has gotten in over their head or their situation has changed so they’re unable to take care of the dogs,” Laura Clark, director of Colleton County Animal Services says.

Clark stated in the press release that the conditions the dogs were living in were the worst she’d seen in her 25 years working with animal services.

“They are wonderful dogs. They have beautiful temperaments. They are going to be a blessing to any home they go to, but they have a few issues,” Rebecca Hughes, a veterinarian at Shepherd’s Care says.

The spaniels will need routine vaccinations and to be spayed or neutered.

Seven of the eleven are heartworm-positive, which will require expensive treatment.

“The male has pretty severe inflammatory problems with his ears and his eyes,” Hughes says.

Hughes says he has some severe issues with tarter build-up on his gums that will need to be addressed, but are overall in good shape.

“There is nothing that says that these puppies aren’t going to be active and happy and a wonderful addition to their families for several years to come,” Hughes says.

But getting to this condition could be avoided. Colleton County Animal Services asks people to ask for help sooner when they are in a situation where they feel they can’t care for their animals.

“There are a lot of resources in our community, as well as other communities in the Lowcountry, that are trying to help with vet care, food and relocating animals. Waiting until it’s such a dire situation makes it worse for everybody,” Clark says.

Keil says the organization has taken in about 40 springers this year alone.

If you want to foster or donate, visit the English Spaniel Rescue America website. Donations can be made in honor of these 11 dogs by noting ‘South Carolina 11’ on your donation.

“We’ll make you. You just have to be loving safe and dedicated and be patient for these dogs because they’ve been through a lot,” Keil says.

Colleton County Animal Control is receiving praise for how professional and compassionate the officers were while corralling the dogs.

Clark says at one point they even played music and sang for them to calm them down.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Updated: Nov. 9, 2024 at 4:37 AM PST

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WCSC) - Five thousand gallons of water from a sewer in Walterboro are flowing into a nearby creek, raising concerns and creating a smelly environmental problem.

The reported overflow is near the intersection of Ireland Creek Drive and Dowling Avenue in Walterboro.

The S.C. Department of Environmental Services has confirmed this problem is reported on their Sanitary Sewer Overflow list but Walterboro’s Public Works Director Mike Crosby is listed as marking the problem as complete.

But footage showed water was still flowing out of the drain Friday.

The report states Walterboro’s Wastewater Treatment Plant recorded approximately 4.5 inches of rain in a little more than 24 hours which caused a surcharge in the collections system.

Those who live in the area say this specific drain overflows every time heavy rains come to the area which has happened multiple times in the last year.

“Everybody knows about it, just nobody does anything about it,” a nearby business owner who asked only to be identified as “Tim” said. “I went over to the city water department and said, ‘Hey, there’s a problem,’ and they said, ‘Yeah, we’re aware of the problem.’ So I figured they’d be finding a solution; that was a year ago.”

The possibly contaminated waters are flowing into the nearby Ireland Creek which feeds into the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary.

“There’s people fishing out of that river,” Tim said. “It’s not a huge creek, but it empties into other creeks so anywhere between here and there is getting contaminated with sewage and bits of stuff and bacteria.”

When the water flows, the surrounding area already smells like sewage and residents say once the water stops following and dries up in the sun, the smell gets even worse.

“When it really starts to sit there and get stagnant, oh, then it’s really bad. That’s when they’ll throw lime on it,” Tim said.

Residents said they have expressed concerns to the city when the overflow happens and the city sprinkles powdered lime on the saturated ground to cover up the stench.

“It’s a way of masking the smell, for sure, but it’s not the solution long term,” Tim said.

The same Sanitary Sewer Overflow report states lime powder has been applied by the city and clean up efforts will continue as the flow recedes.

But residents are still concerned how this is affecting the environment as this is not the first time it has happened.

“It could be a simple issue that they don’t know what to do about it, but it seems like after many years, somebody could have come up with some sort of solution to keep the sewage from dumping into the river,” Tim said.

The S.C. Department of Environmental Services said “it’s marked Complete which indicates it’s been cleaned up and addressed by the wastewater system.”

The City of Walterboro released the following statement:

“It’s not uncommon for heavy rainfalls in a short amount of time to cause issues for wastewater collection systems. The agency has been in communication with Walterboro about the release to ensure the facility continues to take the appropriate steps to minimize any potential impacts to the environment.”

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.