The Humane Society of Charlotte says it rescued 19 breeding dogs early Saturday from a puppy mill in western North Carolina. The society said its emergency response team found a breeding operation at the site, with 19 Maltese and Maltese mix dogs between 4 and 10 years old.
Officials said the dogs had mouth, eye and skin problems resulting from a lack of veterinary care. They will be treated then sent to foster homes.
In a statement Saturday, Jorge Ortega, vice president of operations for the Human Society of Charlotte, criticized the operation. “These animals were living in a situation that did not allow for any type of veterinary care which has led to their current condition. Our goal is to give them the care that they lacked along with a safe place to heal, and to find loving homes for them.”
"The Humane Society of Charlotte objects to the inhumane treatment and irresponsible mass breeding techniques used in puppy mill operations," he said.
North Carolina's House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on new rules that would set state standards for the treatment of animals by commercial breeders. See details about House Bill 930 on the General Assembly website.
Read the full Humane Society announcement on HumaneSocietyofCharlotte.org.
WILL S.C. LAWMAKERS PASS AN ETHICS BILL?
South Carolina lawmakers are facing a deadline Wednesday that will determine what bills face final votes this session. Ethics reform is one of the highest profile issues threatened by the so-called crossover deadline. Bills that don't advance from one chamber to the other by Wednesday require a two-thirds vote to even be considered. That's a nearly impossible hurdle for measures that are at all controversial. House leaders insist their 38-page ethics reform package will make the deadline. House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister says the goal is to just get it to the Senate, so the process can continue. But other reform bills are almost certainly dead for the year. They include legislation to strengthen the state's public records law.
FEDS CLOSE LENOIR BANK
A South Carolina bank has taken over the Parkway Bank in Lenoir after it was closed by federal regulators concerned about its financial condition. Certus Bank of Easley, South Carolina, has acquired the deposits $105 million in deposits and most of the assets of Parkway. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said Parkway’s deposits are insured and operations should be normal when the bank’s offices in Granite Falls and Hudson reopen Monday under the Certus name.
E. CHARLOTTE PARTY SHOOTING HURTS 5
Five people were injured in a shooting early Saturday at a house party in east Charlotte. Police say one of the wounded men suffered life-threatening injuries in the shooting, which happened around 2:45 a.m. in the front yard of a home on William Reynolds Drive in the Hickory Grove neighborhood. Four other men had less serious injuries. Charlotte Mecklenburg Police are trying to find out what led to the shootings.
FRIENDS MEMORIALIZE SLAIN POLITICAL STRATEGIST
A North Carolina political strategist who died last this week after being stabbed in her home was remembered at a memorial service in Raleigh Saturday. Family, friends and political allies of 29-year-old Jamie Kirk Hahn also gathered later in Raleigh for a Democratic Party dinner.
Hahn and her husband, Nation, were stabbed on Monday. Nation Hahn said at Saturday's memorial service that his wife loved politics because she wanted to help the less fortunate.
Authorities have charged Jonathan Broyhill with the crime. He was the best man at the couple's wedding. Police haven't given a motive. Former U.S. Rep. Brad Miller says there are questionable campaign reports Broyhill made while working for his campaign through Hahn's consulting firm.
ACTION AT THE NATIONWIDE RACE
There was action on and off the track Saturday night at the Nationwide Series auto race at Richmond International Raceway. Kevin Harvick won the race by plowing through traffic on a two-lap sprint to the finish.
Meanwhile, two crew members from Richard Childress Racing were arrested on assault charges following a fight after the race. Both men are crew members for driver Brian Scott. Scott and rival driver Nelson Piquet Jr. had tangled on the track and in the pits after the race. Crews for both drivers then joined in. The fight that led to the arrests occurred after the drivers had returned to their motorhomes.