Animal Control monitoring Rock Hill home where crated dog died

The Rock Hill woman arrested after a dog she allegedly left crated in 94-degree heat died has a second animal which has prompted several follow-up visits by York County Animal Control.

Quintasia Walls, 18, was charged with ill treatment of animals June 14 after she left a small dog crated on her patio while she went shopping, according to the York County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies and animal control officers went to her home after someone reported a dog had been left in a crate sitting in the sun. They found the dog dead in the crate, which had feces and urine inside of it. The crate was sitting on a concrete slab where the temperature, at the time, was 94 degrees.

According to an animal control report, a second dog at Walls’ home was tied to a tree and had no water. Steve Stuber, animal control manager, said officers could not take the dog into custody without proving it was in immediate danger.

“We would have to get a search warrant and prove that that dog was in danger,” he said. “That dog appeared to be healthy at the time. It’s a difficult thing to do, to take someone’s pet.”

Animal Control has made “several” random followup visits with Walls on the second dog since her arrest. Stuber said the second dog is in good health.

“We don’t want people to know when we’re going to come,” he said. “We just make little pop visits and check and see how the animal is treated. In this case, the animal was taken back inside and became an inside dog because of the heat.”

State law provides that ill treatment of animals can be either a misdemeanor or a felony charge. Walls was charged with a felony, which carries six months to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Stuber said Animal Control can charge people with misdemeanors, but can’t take them into custody. If a case warrants a felony charge, they contact law enforcement.

“In a misdemeanor case, we write the ticket,” he said. “We don’t take anyone into custody. We don’t have that authority.”

In Walls’ case, someone saw the dog crated outside and called law enforcement. Stuber said they encourage anyone who suspects animal abuse to call law enforcement or Animal Control to investigate. He said their number of calls always increases during the summer, and estimated it has increased by about 75 percent in the past month.

“It’s a difficult time of the year,” he said. “We’ve been concentrating on the heat and condition of water animals have to drink. Not only dogs, but cats, horses, livestock.”

Dr. Eric Setzer, of Lesslie Animal Hospital in Rock Hill, said extreme heat affects dogs differently than humans.

“They don’t have a lot of sweat glands like humans do,” he said. “They really have no way of dispensing heat except for panting. If it gets too hot, panting is not sufficient.”

Fresh water and adequate shade are key in keeping animals cool during hot summer months, Setzer said, but he added that even that may not be enough as temperatures approach triple digits.

Some breeds, such as English bulldogs and pugs, have breathing problems in general and can succumb quickly to heat, Setzer said. Signs of heat exhaustion in pets include heavy panting, vomiting and lethargy.

If a pet is shows signs of heat exhaustion and an animal hospital isn’t close by, Setzer suggested placing the animal in a bath of room-temperature water, warning that cold water could shock the animal’s system.

Taking pets out for long period of time in high temperatures is not advised, he said.

“If you have to go out or you’re going to go out,” he said, “I wouldn’t go more than 15 to 30 minutes, with water.”

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Animal Control monitoring Rock Hill home where crated dog died."