SUMTER, S.C. — Two Sumter women are facing charges after 27 dogs were rescued from a home in October 2022.
According to the Sumter Police Department, animal control officers found a dog wandering in the area of Sam Smith Street. A search for the dog's owner led them to a nearby house where the officers were met with "a foul smell" from inside the house and the sound of several other dogs.
No one responded at the time, but the suspects in the case, 72-year-old Janet Barrineau Derrick and 66-year-old Diane Stevens Bochette, later gave officers access to the house which police said was "covered with feces and urine."
Authorities recovered 27 dogs from the property and took them to the Sumter County Animal Shelter. Four dogs had to be euthanized due to their condition. The rest have since been adopted.
Derrick, who operates the non-profit Carolina Helping Paws Rescue, was charged with four counts of abandonment of animals and Bochette was charged with four counts of ill-treatment of animals. Both turned themselves in to the police on Wednesday.
The investigation is ongoing.
