Betrayed by The Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, South Carolina (Phone No: 843-761-0683)

 Update # 2: 
Final Update: I met with Ms. Marcia Atkins, director of the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC, today. Ms Marcia assured me that they do work with many rescue organizations, showed me a list of whom they work with. Some of the names were crossed out due to various reasons, i.e. not wanting to pay the $25 adoption fee that an organization would have to pay in order to adopt an animal from them. The locic: if you can’t even pay the $25, how will you be able to give the necessary care, considering the amount of money it takes to take care of an animal?

In order for them to work with a rescue, the rescue has to be a registered non-profit organization, has to fill out an application, send various information regarding their organization, and provide at least 3 references with contact information. Ms. Marcia showed me the paperwork from an organization that was faxed to her today.

Many rescue organizations they contact are not able/willing to take in animals that have aggression issues and those who do are already overfilled a lot of times.

They do not hand dogs over to an organization simply because that organization might specialize in a certain breed. If a dog is adoptable, they will keep that dog and adopt it out themselves because that’s where a lot of their funds are coming from. Even though these funds do, many times, not cover the cost it took to take care of an animal, they still rely heavily on these funds to keep their facility running. Therefore, they can not afford to just give animals away. The adoption center is also the one of the big reason why every animal can and will get a fair chance. According to Ms. Marcia, their adoption rate is very high.

Ms. Marcia led me through the facility and pointed out how many animals have been at their facility for how long. I saw all kinds of dogs, including a bunch a Pitbulls. Some of the dogs were owner surrenders, others were strays. One was being treated for heartworm, another for urinary tract infection. There were cats with their litters and a few litters of puppies, almost ready for the adoption center. The puppies were kept in a separate room because they don’t want for them to contract any diseases. The whole facility is kept very clean. I was there 4 or 5 times prior to today’s visit and the facility was always clean. The three times I showed up to do volunteer work, they were surprised to see me, and even then, the facility was always clean. In other words, they didn’t do a special cleaning just for today’s visit.

If a stray comes in that needs to be cleaned up, it’ll get a rabies shot first, then a bath. If the animal is too big of a mess, the groomer will come in or the animal will be taken to a groomer. If the animal needs medical attention, it will get it. An ex-employee at SPCA (colleague’s sister) confirms this.

Last Saturday, they spayed/neutered 128 animals. My husband can confirm this because he went to shelter and then to the adoption center to see if Precious might be there (that was before we knew that she didn’t “pass” the test). However, when he went to the adoption center, he saw a TON of cages inside and outside their Spay & Neuter Clinic, which is located directly beside the adoption center.

Their temperament tests for dogs consists of 5 or 6 different steps.
- They put a dog in a room and introduce him/her to another dog.
- They introduce food while the two dogs are in the same room together.
- Depending on the reactions, they might put the “test dog” back in the cage and introduce food while the dog is in the cage. While the dog is eating, they reach in there to see how the dog reacts. According to Ms. Karen, who also conducts these tests, she uses her own hands because the rubber hands they had, got tore up and they didn’t get around to ordering new ones yet.
- They put the “test dog” on the leash and walk him/her by other dogs and other animals.

I can’t remember the other steps…however, no animal passes or fails. They also take the shelter atmosphere into consideration and make notes of how an animal reacts toward what. Depending on these reactions, it is being determined if an animal can safely be adopted out. I was shown a dog on their website that shouldn’t be with small children, yet he/she will be adopted out because of the way the dog’s overall positive reaction and his/her positive reaction toward “taller” people. Another one she showed me is shy and should be approached gently, yet he/she will be adopted out.

Any owner surrender will be tested regardless of what kind of issues the owner claims the dog might have. Yes, Ms. Karen will look at the report, but she also does take every owner’s claims with a grain of salt as many owners are simply not truthful and will find any reason/excuse to get rid of an animal. Some owners try to make themselves feel better by finding an excuse as to why they can’t keep an animal. Many times she can’t confirm the owner’s claims when she tests the animal.

When she talked to me, she looked straight at me, her eyes didn’t shift, and she struck me as a person with a warm personality. She struck me like someone who really gets into the animals, and she seemed honest.

Even though they do everything possible for the animals at their facility, Ms. Marcia did point out that they do stress on their website, that all other resources and options should be considered first prior to taking an animal to the SPCA. If you can’t keep an animal for whatever reason, re-homing yourself is always the best option, unless it comes to aggression. When it comes to aggression, one has to be honest with themselves, know his/her limits, and sometimes make tough decisions. She also said, if more people would be honest with themselves, instead of thinking they can “handle” it, maybe we wouldn’t have to read headlines such as “2-year old mauled to death”.

I still believe that every dog can be turned around, but there simply aren’t enough Cesars and Jasons out there………..

Everything both ladies told me made sense and from what I can see and what I heard, they ARE doing an EXCELLENT job with the animals.

I do have a problem with one thing though and that is their follow-up policy. As mentioned during my earlier posts/messages, once you sign an animal over, no follow up will be permitted (I guess with all the noise we made (you all and I), our case was an exception).

I asked Ms. Marcia to please consider changing their policy and offered my volunteer services to give people a chance to follow up on their animal. She told me that my services could be utilized better with working with the animals and I somewhat agree with her. However, if you work with animals, sometimes you REALLY have to consider the humans too. Some people drop their animals off w/o even thinking about it twice but then there are those whose hearts are broken by simply having to part from an animal.

My husband and I, taking pet “ownership” very seriously and belong to those who were heart-broken. We were scanning the websites, hoping to find Precious, not knowing that we really were looking for a dead dog….. Not knowing and scanning was torture. Yes, knowing that she couldn’t be adopted out breaks our hearts too, but at least now we know. We will never forget, but now we can move on.

Thanks to Ms. Marcia and Ms. Karen for taking the time to talk/explain and for showing me around, and most of all, for letting me know what happened to Precious.

Thanks to you all my friends for your support. It’s really good to know that there is a great group of people out there than can be counted upon when the need arises. I truly appreciate every one of you.

Now, I need your help clearing the Doc Williams SPCA name. So, go spread the word and tell everyone that my suspicions and accusations were unfounded, unless you think that those two ladies are just really good actors/liars. I have the strong feeling they were honest though, they both seemed sincere.

So, Ms. Marcia, how about that policy change – PLEASE ;-)!UPDATE:

Preamble to update: Below highlighted in green is an update from my sister-in -Law:  Personally I still have questions, for example why did the SPCA refuse to answer any of Elke's question? Or respond to any of her emails? Why  would they try to use The  AMA's HIPAA Regulations (which pertains to medical (human) privacy and not animals. I worked in Heathcare since 1975 so I am very familiar w/ the HIPAA Regulation) as an excuse to secrecy? And why now, only after receiving  negative attention is Ms. Marcia Atkins all of the sudden acting as if Doc Williams is so open and above reproach?    These are MY questions, not my sister-in-laws'. I am taking full responsibility for these questions. I am voicing my own suspicions here.  Maybe they are wonderful to their non-human charges and nothing of a sinister nature happened -but- in my opinion their treatment of my brother & sister-in-law  cold & callous ...without a doubt. Terrible 'people skills'.
just my opinion.

Elke McCauley October 11 at 9:09pm Reply • Report

Ms. Marcia Atkins, director of the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC, called today to let me know that I am mistaken with my statements. She stressed that at their facility, NO animal will be euthanized due to over crowding and that EVERY animal does get a fair chance. I was told that they do temperament tests on EVERY animal regardless of issues reported by the owner or whether or not a DHEC report was filed due to aggression. If the animal passes the test, the DHEC report is voided and the animal goes to their adoption center. If the animal does not pass the test due to issues that do not endanger other animals or humans, trainers and specialists WILL work with that animal. If the animal does not pass the test and displays aggression, the animal will be euthanized due to liability issues. IF Ms. Atkin's statements are true and Precious was given a fair chance, Precious proved us wrong and did not pass the aggression test :-(. I was told that Precious was tested by a professional who has been working for the Doc Willams SPCA for 10 years.

We realize that a person like Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, or Jason Flatt, founder of the Friends to the Forlorn Pitbull Rescue, could have maybe turned our girl around, but let's face it, how many of those guys are out there.....Would Precious have been happy with a "regular" person even if she could've been the only dog? Would she have respected that person as a leader or would she have caused serious harm some day? I guess we'll never know; I just wish the whole world was full of Cesars and Jasons.

While we will always have to live with the guilt of having taken her to the SPCA, convinced that she would pass the test, are deeply saddened, and are still wrecking our brains as to what we could have done differently and better, we still can't figure it out. Between my husband and me, we have a life time of dog experience but never ran into a girl like our Precious. We currently have a pack of 4 dogs who listen at the snap of our fingers and are very relaxed and balanced. We never ran into a dog before who had good and bad days. On a good day, she would NOT vibrate the other dogs out of a certain space that she decided to claim. On a bad day (almost daily), she could clean out the whole house, including Brutus whom she loved, with just her vibrations and if vibrations alone didn't to the trick, little snaps would follow. We felt the vibes too and heard the snaps, corrected the situation every time the way we did with every other dog so far, but our previously very successful methods faced Precious only very briefly. She was not like every other dog. Seems she felt like she always needed to be on the guard and watch out for herself and especially me even though none of the other dogs ever challenged her for food or leadership and I tried my very best to display my leadership qualities. Philly is also very attached to me and I’m sure she felt that. Philly, however, while he lets out little growls every so often, never stands his ground to anyone and just leaves the area. Philly doesn't get into anyone's face not does he vibrate anyone out of any areas. He doesn't claim any areas or me; none of the other dogs do. We controlled the food, toys, etc. We don't prepare food unless everyone is relaxed and settled down. Everyone would be relaxed and settled down, except Precious. Food preparation would take a while because every time she got up, we interrupted the food preparation and asked her to sit and settle down again. Again, on a good day, the process would go fairly smooth, on a bad day, she would try to out-stubborn us by not backing off, by not sitting down, etc.. We never let her succeed with her stubborn tactics, always pulled through with our requests, and praised when the wanted behavior was displayed. We claimed the spaces that she tried to claim for herself, wouldn’t let her go on the couch on her own anymore, unless permitted by us, etc. etc. etc. These battles were going on as long as we had her. The only command that she listened to EVERY time was the "spit it out" command. She could be all the way across the yard but every time I used that command, she’d spit out whatever she was chewing on and roll over to let me know that I could have it. I tried to use the same tone of voice and assertiveness with all the other commands – no success. And it’s not that she didn’t get it; she was highly intelligent and proved many times that she got it and that she got it quick. It really seemed like though as if she, a lot of times, didn’t feel like it; testing us. Is this normal behavior for this kind of breed and does this kind of breed really need completely different leadership than any other dog we ever ran across? Does the breed have nothing to do with it? Did she have issues because of her past? Did we instill those issues in her? We really wish we could’ve afforded a specialist and we really wish we didn’t have to work for a living and that we could’ve spent a lot more time with her. Maybe that would’ve done the trick. We would have LOVED to keep that dog and see her succeed, especially since she was very, very human friendly and affectionate. We’ll never forget that wiggly little behind and how happy she looked when she came running toward us. RIP Precious.

To confirm her words, Ms. Atkins invited me to their facility because, so she said, she would love to show me what they do, how they do it, that they have nothing to hide, that they do their very best for every animal, that they do have a professional staff that does not discriminate against Pitbulls or any other breed, and that they are currently holding 15 Pitbulls at their facility. She also told me that she is a Pitbull care taker herself; of a Pitbull she adopted from their facility.

So, after tomorrow’s visit, I will hopefully be able to inform the world that my suspicions and accusations were wrong and that the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC is doing an EXCELLENT job.

I’ll keep you in the loop.

Please Sign The Petition:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/force-the-doc-williams-spca-in-moncks-corner-sc-to-be-honest-with-the-public/

This is a Memorial  written by my sister-in-law and sent to me this afternoon. I was privy to the whole process of Precious, her rescue, her progress and endless hours on the phone with my brother talking about our dogs ( their 5/6 and my 2) as if they were our children (in a sense they are). My bother and his wife took in, fostered & racked up huge vet bill for Heart-worm Treatments, spay/neuters, blood transfusion, surgeries, etc for stray, abandoned neglected dogs that were dumped in the country. Even when they were in financial distress after he was laid off from his job and they were losing their house ultimately moving into a mobile home they still they took in sick, stray dogs.  Not only did they have a financial investment in Precious they also have a huge emotional investment in her as well.

These are not fly-by-night irresponsible people, they are educated, well spoken people who carry themselves in a respectable manor so The SPCA would have no reason to 'red flag' them. 

 What  The Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, South Carolina (phone No: 843-761-0683 )
did to them is reprehensible, AN UNFORGIVABLE BETRAYAL. They deceived my brother and his wife lolling them into a false sense of security, assuring them that Precious would be okay and then they killed her. This is unforgivable. 

Naturally they are grief stricken over  the loss of Precious.  The Address is:

Doc Williams SPCA
502 Cypress Gardens Rd.
Moncks Corner, SC. 29461

Phone: 843-761-0683

What they say vs. what they do at the

Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC

In Memory of Precious

It was cold and rainy on November 17, 2009, when the neighbor's kids approached me with the words "we think our doggy is dying and our mommy doesn't know what to do. Would you come over?" When I came into their yard, I found a little, VERY skinny little dog lying on the ground in her own waste, unable to get up, with yellow stuff and feces all over her body. I picked her up, rinsed her off, wrapped her into my shirt and took her home. I asked my husband for towels and to call the vet and said "I don't think this one is going to make it".

The drive to the veterinary clinic was long and that little creature on my lap was ice-cold. I could feel the cold on my legs through the towels she was wrapped in. At the vets, they gave her fluids, put her on a heating pad, treated her for internal parasites, and tried to clean that yellow stuff, which was fly larva, off her mouth and body. After about 1.5 hours on the heating pad, her body temperature could still not be detected.

Back home, we prepared a cage for her and kept on wrapping her into warm towels (my husband had the awesome idea to warm up some towels in the dryer). Unable to lift her head for a very long time, she managed to eat a little bit of something. My husband pulled the night-shift and kept a close eye on her.

To everyone’s surprise, especially the staff’s at the vet clinic, she pulled through the night. They didn’t expect to see her and told my husband later on that she only had a 5% chance of survival. She received more fluids and was sent back home with us.

She seemed to perk up but crashed a day later and received a blood transfusion. After the blood transfusion, things really started to go well and this little dog started to thrive! It was time for hubby to take over and fatten her up ;-). Every day, she was able to do a little bit more, and slowly but surely regained her strength. Everyone was delighted to see how well that precious little girl recovered. Yes, she was a precious little girl and that’s why we named her Precious.

During the next 11 months, Precious seemed to enjoy her life with us (she never did go back to her previous “care takers” ) and the rest of our pack which consists of Philly, a little Pitbull/Dachshund mix, also the most senior and a mamma’s boy; then there is Brittany, a Boxer/Lab mix, who joined us after our beloved Sam (HUGE German Shepard mix) passed away in December of 2005. Brittany, a pretty big girl, is shy and doesn’t want to cause any trouble or bother anyone. And the twins, Cookie and Brutus, some sort of Lab mixes, joined us when we moved to the country in April 2009. Back then, they were approximately 6 months old and originally belonged to the neighbors who did not want them and did not take care of them. These two are really easy going, just happy go lucky dogs who are very obedient and required very little training. Seems like they’re just happy to be around.

Precious, healthy again and spayed by now, fell in love with Brutus and Brutus fell in love with her. Those two were great together. Brutus knew just how to deal with that little girl. She also got along with the rest of the pack, but took a disliking to Philly, the mamma’s boy - probably because she developed a really strong bond with me, her mamma, and felt she needed to protect me from others and wanted me to herself.

It would have been up to me to handle the situation properly because Precious gave plenty of warnings, letting me know, that I needed to step up. Well, never having dealt with a strong-minded, very assertive dog like Precious, I failed to complete the task to Precious satisfaction and Precious, after many minor attacks and warnings, finally latched on to Philly and wouldn’t let go. Brutus entered the brawl and got a hold of Philly as well. Philly got lucky and walked away with puncture wounds, scratches, bruised bones, and very sore and bloody ears, but no life-threatening injuries.

Very shook up, not knowing how to handle the situation, we took Precious to our local SPCA, hoping that, with their resources and contacts, she would find a home where she would be the only dog, could focus on and love her humans without having to share, get the leadership that I could not provide, and be a great companion to someone.

See, the SPCA was always a place that I felt like I would never want to take a dog to, until I talked to the director, the kennel manager, and an assistant at our local Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC. I first talked to them about 6 months ago when we desperately needed to find a home for a Pitbull who belonged to another neighbor. I called them up and asked how they dealt with Pitbulls and if Pitbulls would be euthanized simply because they’re Pitbulls.

Back then, I was assured by 3 different people during different conversations that every dog, regardless of breed, size, age, or issues will go through an evaluation and get a fair chance. I was told they work with therapists and trainers, if necessary. I was also told that euthanasia will only be used if an animal is very sick or extremely aggressive. I was impressed!! These conversations changed my whole perception of what I thought is done and probably needed to be done at a place like the SPCA. Yes, they are responsible for a rather large county and take in thousands of animals in each year, but – so I was told - they work A LOT with rescue organizations and fosters to keep the euthanasia rate down.

The same story was repeated during orientation when I became a volunteer at the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC. And that same story was repeated again when we made the tough decision to take our Precious there.

When we dropped her off, we gave them an honest statement as to what happened and why we felt like we needed to part from our lovable dog. We stressed that even though she attacked one of our other dogs, she is not at fault and that we (mostly I) are just not the kind of people Precious needs and that we (mostly I) are at fault for not being able to provide the proper leadership.

We were assured that everything possible would be done to find her a home. Yes, they had to file a report with the SC DHEC, but not to worry, because these reports don’t mean anything and are, most of the time, thrown own, especially if a dog passes the temperament test, which I knew she would, if given the opportunity. Other than the battle over me between Philly and her, she had no issues, no aggressive tendencies. I was told to keep on watching their adoption website to follow the progress, because once you sign her over, no information will be given, no follow up - other than the website - will be granted. I was also told not to freak if we don’t see her on their website because, again, they work with many rescue groups, even out of State and, again, not to worry – she’ll be fine.

Our precious little girl, who was never afraid of anything, did not like that place, had her tail tugged in, was shaking, needed to be dragged into the building and pushed into her cage. The young lady who prepared her cage was really nice, telling Precious that she’ll be fine and that she will be taken for a walk shortly.

We felt like crap when we left the SPCA but we also felt like that we made the best decision for everyone involved. We were positive that these folks will truly do their best to keep her alive and find her a more suitable home than ours.

We dropped her off on Monday, October 4, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. and on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, at around 11:00 a.m., we couldn’t live with our decision anymore, really worried about that DHEC report, called the SPCA and told them that we couldn’t live with our decision and that we wanted Precious back. That’s when I was told that once you sign a dog over, you can’t get it back unless it’s through their adoption process. I told them that we will pay the adoption fee and even sign a release form, releasing them from any responsibility, because of her dog aggression issue. I was told that’s not possible and that we couldn’t be helped with our decision and that we were the ones who signed her over and said she was aggressive and that there were so many dogs who don’t have any issues that are looking for homes as well.

Not really computing what was just said, I asked if I could at least visit, walk, and cuddle with her since I’m a registered volunteer. Again, I was told “no”. Still having hope, I contacted the local rescue organizations with the plea to please help me get her out.

The feedback I received from two different people at two different organizations were devastating. One person told me that, in her opinion, the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner discriminates against Pitbulls and does not work with many Pitbull Rescue Organizations. She also told me that, in 2009, when her rescue organization was still working with the Doc Williams SPCA, they instructed the SPCA to NOT put down a Pitbull the rescue organization wanted to evaluate the next day and possibly re-home. That particular dog was euthanized before the SPCA opened and before the Pitbull Rescue Organization employees got there - supposedly because he got sick, while he appeared very healthy the previous day. Based on her experience and the lack cooperation, she beliefs that our Precious didn’t even make it through the first night at the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC.

Another person from another rescue organization told me that the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC does not have the time, money, or resources to deal with aggression issues, regardless of dog or human aggression. And again, she doesn’t think either that Precious is still alive.

You know, that’s all fine and dandy and I don’t blame the SPCA for having to do what they feel they need to do. What I have a problem with are those darn lies! Could they not come out and say, you know, if you turn that dog in, we will have to euthanize her?! Had they been honest, we would’ve never considered the SPCA as an option to re-home our Precious.

It’s kind of hard for me to figure out why they would lie to people the way they do. Did they not see that our hearts were already broken from having to separate ourselves from Precious? Why would you lie to us about what would happen? Tell me the truth, so I can make a conscious decision!

Someone suggested that they might lie to make people feel better. Well, let me tell you, these kind of lies don’t make anyone feel better. Their lies led to the unnecessary death of our precious little girl. Had we known, we would’ve found another solution somehow.

How to you force people to be honest though? Since they are an organization that is partially funded by tax payer’s money, one would think that they would have to follow certain guidelines and one would think that honesty would be included in those guidelines.

Until I can find a way to expose their tactics and somehow force these people to be honest with the public, I’ll keep on typing and posting, right along with my sister-in-law who is just as upset as we are.

In the meanwhile, remember to NEVER EVER drop a dog with aggression issues, or any other issues – just to be on the safe side, off at the DOC WILLIAMS SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC, especially if that dog is a Pitbull, regardless of what they tell you they will do, because they LIE!

Below, you’ll see pictures of Precious and her miraculous recovery and in the end, one of the last pictures we took right before we dropped her off a the SPCA:

Thanks to the lies of the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC, we will have to live with the knowledge, that we dragged and shoved our precious little girl into certain death. She tried to tell us and we just didn’t get it…

Please forgive us; we never meant to harm you.
Please Sign The Petition:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/force-the-doc-williams-spca-in-moncks-corner-sc-to-be-honest-with-the-public/