Mutilated animals found
Starr, SC (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 24, 2011
County: Anderson
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Three mutilated dead animals, two goats and a cat, have been found in the Starr area this year.
Brad Grogan, who commutes to work from Starr to Pendleton, found the cat Feb. 24 on Gentry Road. An animal lover, Grogan keeps watch for dead pets on the road and tries to give them burials.
He wasn't prepared for what he saw on Gentry Road. His wife had told him that she had seen a dead cat on his route the day before. He pulled over at 6:30 p.m. and saw the large black-and-white cat lying in high grass. When he tried to pick up the animal, its head moved. A stick went through the side of the cat's head through its ears and rope was tied around its neck.
"It was disgusting," Grogan said.
"It was just laying there like it had been thrown out. That's when I got perturbed."
The cat appeared to have an owner.
"You could tell it was somebody's pet because it had a nice flea collar on it," Grogan said. There was no collar with an owner's name. He took the cat to the Animal Hospital at Liberty Highway, and it was cremated.
Office manager Donna Rieser saw the cat as she put it in a bag for cremation.
"I've been working here almost 10 years, and I've never seen the likes of that," she said.
The veterinary office decided not to report it because the cat's owner was not known, Rieser said.
The two dead goats were found at the end of a hilly road known as Old Roller Coaster Road. Susan Robinson's sons were playing outside near a creek about two months ago when they saw a dead goat with a pipe stuck through its neck. A week later, they found the second goat, also with a pipe through its throat.
Robinson said she heard of such mutilations in town a long time ago. She owns two goats, but said she always locks them up at night.
The hardest part was explaining it to her sons.
They asked, "Mom it's crazy; how could someone do that?" she said.
Robinson said she's planning to contact animal control.
It is not clear whether the animals' deaths were caused by the mutilation or whether that was done after they were dead.
Chad McBride, spokesman for the Anderson County Sheriff's Department, encourages anyone who has discovered animals deliberately killed to report it.
"That is animal cruelty, and it is against the law, and we do take it seriously," he said.
No reports of animal cruelty have been filed from Starr or Iva, McBride said.
Witnesses of animal cruelty may contact the sheriff's office at 260-4400 or call Crime Stoppers at (864) 231-7867 to leave anonymous tips.
Townspeople, meanwhile, will keep a close eye on their animals.
"I just want it to be known that what these people have done has been noticed and people are going to be on a lookout for that," Grogan said. If you have information on this case, please contact:
Crime Stoppers
(864) 231-7867
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