3 horses, 1 dog neglected - dog stolen
Columbus County, NC (US)Incident Date: Monday, Jun 2, 2003
County: Columbus
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Ron Beck
» Donna Beck
» Janice Melton
An Horry County woman who has refused to return a dog she is accused of stealing from a Columbus County, N.C., home has been re-charged with larceny of a dog, a Class I felony. If convicted, Janice Melton, a Green Sea resident, is facing at least probation and a fine.
Melton turned herself in to the Columbus County, N.C., sheriff and was released on a $2,500 secure bond. Melton said she would rather go to jail than return the dog, which she said she found emaciated and with mange.
Melton discovered the dog when she went to check on the horses on Ron and Donna Beck's property because she heard they were being mistreated.
She said she took the dog because she believed it was being abused. "The dog was in very bad shape," Melton said. "It was all skin and bones."
Columbus County Assistant District Attorney Sarah Garner had initially dropped the charges against Melton. The dog's owners also have been charged, each facing one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals in connection with the treatment of the horses.
One horse died and two others were removed from the property June 2 by Columbus County Animal Control Officer Rossie Hayes.
The Becks' charges came on the heels of a news release last week by the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which called for Garner to bring cruelty charges against the Becks.
Animal rights activists are upset that charges were brought against Melton. "This is outrageous," said Pat Lambert, who takes animal abuse reports for the Columbus County Humane Society. "These people are the ones who starved the horses. The horses look like they were starving to death and the dog."
Lambert visited the Becks' property and saw the horses.
Otis Branyon, who tended to the horses, said a drunken neighbor used a pole from a satellite dish to bludgeon the horse that died, and that the other horses were in bad shape because they caught parvovirus from the dog.
Casey Tyler, who works at a veterinarian's office in Loris, previously said horses cannot contract parvovirus.
The dog and the horses remain in foster homes. Melton said she visited the dog a couple of weeks ago and that the dog is gaining weight. References« NC State Animal Cruelty Map
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