On March 28, the Humane Society of Marlboro County (HSMC) in partnership with Carolina Waterfowl Rescue (CWR) raided a cock fighting establishment in Wallace, South Carolina. They seized 122 birds (5 had to be euthanized on site) and a severely emaciated female pit bull with her 10 puppies.
“The Sheriff’s department contact us because they needed our assistance in figuring out how to care for all those birds once they were seized,” Kenny Hinson, Vice President of the Humane Society of Marlboro County told us. “They didn’t even know a dog was there.”
Once the area had been secured, the rescue teams from HSMC and CWR with assistance from Kim Kelley, State Director of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Janette Reever. Deputy Manager of Animal Fighting Response for the Animal Rescue Team, got to work, assessing the birds.
“We were in our truck, leaving, when we got the call that a dog and her puppies had been found,” says Hinson. “She was on the edge of the woods, chained to a tree, with a dog house full of puppies”
When they started to lead her toward Hinson’s truck, she jumped right in.
“it was amazing. She wanted out of there,” Hinson recalls.
When the video below, created by HSUS, hit the news – a miracle happened.
An Unexpected Reunion Over a year ago, a family’s beloved dog was stolen from their home in South Carolina. The last thing our Animal Rescue Team thought they’d find at a cockfighting raid this past weekend was this sweet dog and her 10 puppies. Watch her rescue story and see her reunite with her family for the first time! — with Humane Society of Marlboro County
The mother was actually a dog named Nina Louise, who had been stolen from April Morris’s yard in December 2013.
She had been in the backyard to go potty while her owners went inside to grab a cup of tea.
When they got back out – just minutes later – Nina was gone. The family did everything to try and find her – no leads had ever surfaced.
But Nina’s Story Was Just Begining
Stolen and used as a bait dog, a woman in a neighboring county had found her and took her to a vet.
The vet told the woman Nina has probably not eaten in three weeks.
The good Samaritan nursed her back to health and wanted to keep her, but she didn’t get along with the dog the lady already owned. So, she looked for a new home for Nina.
She found a seemingly nice family in Wallace, South Carolina and spent time with Nina, the family and their kids. It seemed like a good fit and she gave them to her.
But instead of a loving family, Nina found herself once again chained, neglected and abused. This was the “home” the rescue workers found her in during the raid.
Finally Home
When the above video played, April Morris called Hinson and asked if the dog had two white spots on the back of her neck.
Hinson asked Jennifer Hyduke, President of the Humane Society of Marlboro County, about the spots. Sure enough, she had them.
April showed Hyduke pictures of Nina as a puppy and growing up – it was most certainly her.
“We get people who report missing dogs all the time and it’s so incredibly rare for them to ever be reunited,” Hinson says. “So for a dog to travel so far and be reunited, it’s a miracle.”
Hinson adds part of the problem is that many people “don’t microchip around here. And they don’t spay and neuter.”
The Morris family took Nina and her pups back home. Where they are all being spoiled, as they deserve.
A rescue organization has agreed to help her find the puppies homes when they are old enough.
The Humane Society of Marlboro County is an all-volunteer organization. Most have full-time jobs as well. They are no-kill and since opening their doors in 2012, have moved 1700 dogs and puppies into rescue.
