Police remove more than 1,000 pets from Fort Mill house over hoarding and cruelty allegations (2024)

FORT MILL— More than 250 pets were taken in by the county's animal shelter in just eight days, including more than 100 from a Fort Mill home where police described horrific animal hoarding and cruelty.

"This is over our capacity for holding in the shelter," staff members wrote in a Facebook post on May 23. "Meaning every kennel is holding one or more animals at this time."

Overall, York County Animal Services staff said they handled four cases of animal cruelty in the last month. As the influx of dogs and cats have arrived at the agency's center at 713 Justice Blvd., staff members have appealed to the public for donations of food, toys and collars.

"We have been overwhelmed with our community's generosity," Animal Services staff said on its Facebook page. "We had a constant inflow of donations (on May 23)."

The Fort Mill case was discovered May 22 by police. Animal Services is processing a mix of dogs, cats, smaller pets and exotic animals, York County spokesman Greg Suskin said. One of the pets had to be euthanized immediately because of its condition, he said. The county is sending some of the animals to specialized rescue organizations.

Fort Mill police said an animal control officer went to a home in the 400 block of Unity Street on May 21 and saw several dogs in the backyard fighting, including one viciously biting a puppy on the neck.

Another dog found in the yard appeared dead, while others looked malnourished, according to an incident report.

Two residents at the Unity home, Megan Elizabeth Kerr, 26, and Bianca Derboghosian, 34, were each charged with two counts of animal cruelty.

The precise donations the shelter needs include:

• Canned Purina dog and puppy food
• Canned Friskies cat food
• Canned Fancy Feast Kitten food
• Pupperonis
• Enrichment items for dogs such as Wubbas, Kongs, Benebones
• Martingale collars for dogs