Calhoun County, SC (WLTX) — Two Calhoun County DOT workers were captured on camera driving along Highway 21 with a dead dog hanging off the side of the DOT maintenance truck Monday afternoon.
Lisa Gower, who lives off Hwy 21 near Sandy Run, saw the truck and followed it until it turned off onto an unpaved road. Gower then confronted the DOT workers about the dog, asking what they were going to do with the animal.
On the video, one of the workers says "we're told to pick it up and get rid of it...in the forest."
Gower and the workers exchange some more words and then the maintenance workers get back in the truck and drive further along the dirt road, into the wooded area.
On Tuesday, WLTX spoke with Gower and her husband, Anthony, about the incident.
"My autistic daughter was in the front seat and witnessed, first saw, the dog-- the DOT truck was in front of us, dangling by its neck on the truck. She immediately thought it was our dog Ryder and she got very upset," Gower said.
Gower said she tried to calm down her daughters before confronting the crew inside the vehicle.
"I had to say something, it's totally unacceptable, that's somebody's dog, it was a terrible sight for children to see. I had to say something," Gower said.
Gower said since she posted the images and video to Facebook, no one has come forward claiming the dog was theirs.
Gower said the community was aware the deceased dog was along the road, but were waiting to see if someone would claim it as the pictures circulated Facebook and other social media.
Calhoun County DOT responded to a call from WLTX about the incident, saying that DOT's policy is that any deceased animal -- be it a domestic or wild animal such as deer or possum -- is to be collected and removed from the roadway, placed somewhere out of sight in the DOT vehicle and taken to a rural area and buried. Animal carcasses are not taken to the dump in Calhoun County.
Kevin Gannt, the administrator for DOT District 7 which includes Calhoun County, said that the policy is to secure the animal in the DOT vehicle where it is not visible to the public while it is being transported.
Animal removal should be handled in the most humane way possible. DOT employees are to be considerate of the public, and each situation is different.
If the animal was a domestic pet, and there was a collar or tag with a contact number, DOT workers should try to contact the owner of the deceased animal.
Asked specifically about the incident along Hwy 21, SCDOT released this statement:
"SCDOT is reviewing the situation that occurred in Calhoun County on Monday involving the removal of a dead animal from the road. SCDOT’s policy prohibits its workers from transporting an animal carcass hanging from the hoist of the truck. The hoist is to be used to place the carcass in the bed of the truck. SCDOT apologizes to the public for the failure of the crew to follow procedure. Disciplinary action may result when the review is completed."
"Well I'm glad that they are investigating the situation, as they should," Gower said.
Gower and her husband said SCDOT should start a registry of all the animals they find on the side of the road. They also said they should check pets for microchips if there are no tags on a collar.