Mother of boy fatally mauled by dogs charged with animal cruelty

The mother of a 10-year-old boy who was attacked and killed by dogs in 2006 is facing the scrutiny of animal control officers in Dillon County.

Caroline Davis, 33, of 135 Pleasant Hill Road, Lot 5, was arrested Monday and charged with animal cruelty, according to the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office. She posted bond and is out of jail.

A deputy was called to Davis’ mobile home Thursday in response to dogs being chained up there without food, as well as a dead animal in a cage outside.

When he arrived, he found two dogs chained outside the home and four more roaming around the property. One of the dogs had all of its ribs showing and another showed signs of mange. The deputy walked around the side of the home and found a dead rabbit in a cage, then called animal control officers to the home, according to an incident report.

The deputy said the septic tank behind the mobile home was broken, and a piece of Styrofoam was being used to cover the hole. Trash bags also were being dumped into the hole near the septic tank, according to the report. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control was notified.

Deputies then asked Davis to let them inside her home to see its condition because children live there, and a neighbor reported they lived in deplorable conditions. According to report, the deputies found holes in the floor and walls, windows that were knocked out, a bathroom that wasn’t functional and and no air conditioning.

State Department of Social Services agents instructed Davis to relocate her children to a relative’s house until her residence could be fixed. Davis said she is renting the trailer from Tonnie Lattimer, who was then called to the scene. Lattimer told deputies he would get the trailer fixed, but it would take some time.

Meanwhile, animal control officers came to the home and seized the two dogs and a puppy as evidence. Davis told deputies the rabbit had died three weeks ago, and she had instructed her son to bury it, but he never got around to it. She also told officers that the dogs were sick and wouldn’t eat, so she didn’t know what to do.

Davis found her son, Matthew, dead Nov. 3, 2006, after six dogs attacked him in the driveway of Collins’ Home Light Road residence in the Emanuelville community in Dillon County.

A jury convicted Bentley Collins on Jan. 30 of one count of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of keeping unconfined dangerous animals in connection with the boy’s death. Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch sentenced Collins to five years in prison for the manslaughter charge and three years each for two of the three dangerous animals charges, which will run concurrent to the manslaughter sentence. The third of those charges was suspended to five years’ probation, which can be reduced to three years if he pays $8,000 in funeral expenses to Matthew’s family. He also isn’t allowed to own any canines.

Collins is appealing the sentence.