HOA Nut House

By Terry Wolf

The Evergreen subdivision in the northwest corner of Laurens County is a picture-perfect community. Beautifully manicured homes are nestled on spacious wooded lots. Rolling hills and three beautiful lakes provide tranquil recreation. Neighbors wave and exchange conversations as they arrive home.

It is an idyllic setting - if only someone wasn’t shooting the community’s pets.

On Woodland Ridge Rd. most of the residents not only know each other well - they even know each other’s pets. Along the quiet winding road, most homes are multiple dog families - and most include at least one rescued pet.

“I found Jesse on Valambrosia Rd. one day... he was just a pup,” said Dee Neville. So when a stray white bulldog with tan spots showed up, Neville took him in.

At first, some had called animal control to pick up the dog. No one wanted to see another animal cruelty incident. They had all seen another dog in the neighborhood with what looked like a gunshot wound to the leg.

But after a few weeks the bulldog was still there. Neville found herself bonding with the timid young dog.

“He was so gentle and friendly,” Neville said, “he wasn’t at all aggressive, in fact he was a bit shy. He was just a polite, lovable dog.”

She began calling the dog ‘Blue’ because of his baby blue eyes, and she looked forward to his daily progress of adjusting to new things in a new home. He was quickly learning to trust.

But on Sept. 3rd, Blue was found dead in a neighbor’s flower bed. What appeared to be a rifle shot had entered one side of Blue’s chest and exited on the other.

Neville, who wasn’t home at the time, believes Blue had crawled to her neighbor’s house, searching for help, when he collapsed and died.

Gunshots and Screams

Across the street, Paul Purvis showed off a rescued newcomer of his own. A friendly 3-month old Labrador mix pup that had once been stranded in the median on Hwy 441.

“I plan on keeping him,” said Purvis as he played with the pup he has named Bandit. “But I don’t know that he stands much of a chance around here lately.”

Purvis recalled the afternoon he heard gunshots coming from behind Neville’s house, followed by repeated screams from a dog.

“It sounded like a .22,” Purvis said. “I ran behind Dee’s house and saw that Jesse was ok. I looked and looked for the dog in the woods on the back of her property, but I couldn’t find a dog. But I know I heard him yelling...it was more like screaming.”

Purvis sent a text message to Neville, who was not at home at the time. When she returned home, Neville was met by other neighbors who had also heard gunfire. One had faintly noticed a figure leaving the wooded area of Neville’s backyard.

Neville’s Boston Terriers were safe inside, and her Lab, Jesse, was unharmed but was visibly cowering in his doghouse at the edge of the woods. Neville called for Blue and search for him in her woods, but there was no sign of the gentle dog. She hoped the gunshots her neighbors heard had just spooked the dog and that he would return by evening.

It would be the next day before the shy animal, mortally wounded and no doubt in shock, would crawl from the woods and die.

“It is barbaric - what was done to him,” said Neville. “He was terrified and suffered for a long time before he finally died. Who could do that to a dog? Just shoot it, hear it screaming, and then just walk away?”

As Neville canvassed her street in search of answers, she was met by neighbors who were shocked, appalled, angry...and frightened. Debbie Nabors, a friend of Neville’s, had spent considerable time with Blue. She was devastated - and angry when she learned how Blue had died.

“This dog was a good dog, a beautiful dog who wasn’t causing anybody any harm,’ Nabors said. “I can’t imagine what kind of person would raise a gun to a dog just standing there. How did they just walk away and leave him lying there? The intent was to murder him.”

Both Nabors and Neville believe whoever killed Blue is likely the same person who had earlier shot the other stray dog.

“There was that other dog hanging around out here, another skittish but nice dog,” Neville said. “Then one day we saw somebody had shot him in the leg, completely disabling him. You couldn’t get close to him after that.”

No one has seen that dog for a few weeks. They fear, like Blue, that dog also suffered and eventually died from his gunshot wounds.

Neville’s fears aren’t just for the well-being of animals in the neighborhood. She worries an errant bullet will find a child.

“There are children who play in these woods,” Neville said pointing to the lot that joins the back of her property. “That family has three kids who play in the woods all the time. Why would someone be firing a gun inside a subdivision anyway where children are outside playing and people are in their backyards?”

In fact, firing a gun in the subdivision is a violation of the homeowners’ association covenants.

“Each person here has a copy of the covenants,” said Gail Strom, manager/bookkeeper of the homeowners’ association. “It is in the covenant’s conditions and restrictions, Section 4.06 Hunting and Fireworks, which says ‘no hunting or discharging of fireworks, or explosives shall be permitted on any lot. Firearms may be discharged only in an emergency’.”

Strom said the board of the homeowner’s association has never had this sort of problem before. Violations are amiably addressed with direct communication from the board to a landowner. After Blue was shot, Strom said that a letter had been mailed to all homeowners to remind them of the applicable covenants.

However, Strom said, “I cannot address the shooting of the dog because we don’t know who was the guilty party. However, the violation of any of the Covenants and Restrictions can be addressed.”

Laurens County Animal Control doesn’t know who the guilty party is either. After an investigation, officers said they were unable to identify a suspect.

“I will pay a reward to anyone who knows who shot him,” Neville said. “Someone out there probably has heard something or someone has talked. Just for the safety of everyone out here, we need to know who is doing this.” She asks that anyone with information about who is shooting animals in Evergreen to email her at evergreen01@bellsouth.net

Neville and the other residents in Evergreen now keep a close watch on each other’s pets. Since Blue’s death, Neville and Nabors say they have heard more gunshots nearby. With each shot she vows to find justice for the young dog with soft blue eyes who moved so quickly into her heart and home.

Source