Locally Speaking

Myrtle Beach Woman Tied To Third Dog Death

A Myrtle Beach woman was charged Thursday with allowing a third dog in her care to die, just two days after being convicted of the same charge in the death of two other dogs, according to a police report and arrest warrant.

Ellyn Jamie Johnson, 33, of 113 River Brook Court was charged Thursday with second-offense ill treatment of animals, said Lt. Jamie DeBari, with the Horry County Police Department.

Johnson is serving a 10-day sentence on the previous charge, and bond had not been set on the charges filed Thursday.

On Wednesday, police found a brindle bulldog dead inside Johnson's apartment, a day after she was convicted of the same charge for the July death of a pair of Labrador retrievers while she lived on Partidgeberry Road.

Conway Magistrate Brad Mayers convicted Johnson in their deaths during a bench trial on Tuesday and sentenced her to serve 10 days in jail and pay a $1,092 fine.

Such cases of abuse and neglect, though horrific in nature, are not uncommon, said Adam Parascandola, director of animal cruelty issues for the Human Society of the United States.

"It's a pretty disturbing case. This is some pretty severe neglect going on here. It's particular disturbing that it continued to go on while she was under trial for the first case," Parascandola said. "Unfortunately it's relatively common. ... These are the most common type of abuse cases we come across. There are large numbers of animals who are neglected every day."

The dog and a malnourished cat were found about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after police obtained a search warrant for her apartment based on a call from the landlord about a foul odor in the unit, police said.

The cat was taken into custody for treatment.

Both animals were uncaged inside the home and the dog was found dead in an upstairs bathroom, according to a police report. Neighbors reported hearing the dog, believed to be a puppy, crying and scratching inside the apartment.

During a bench trial on Tuesday, Johnson testified she would not harm animals and denied the dogs found dead in a crate in her yard in July were hers. She told the judge she gave the dogs to a man who lived in Loris, but she did not have any of his information because her computer had crashed and she met him via Craigslist.

Johnson testified she saw the crate appear in her backyard a day or two before she was charged with the crime and when she saw photos of the dead dogs inside the crate she said they were not hers.

"I'm an animal lover. I did everything I possibly could to find the animals a proper home. I don't understand how the animals got to my property and why," Johnson testified Tuesday. "Anybody could have walked onto my property."

But neighbors and one of Johnson's friends testified those dogs were hers.

Parascandola said, neighbors and friends who suspect an animal is being abused or neglected should report the incident immediately. –Sun News