Woman works hard to stop animal cruelty
HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- Paula Thurman has been rescuing animals since she was about 8 years old, when she took in her first helpless animal - an abandoned baby opossum.
Since then, the 55-year-old Ridgeland resident and animal lover has rescued numerous dogs, cats, cows, pigs, birds, horses and even fish.
Things got serious for Thurman in 1988, when she heard about racing greyhounds being killed in Jacksonville, Fla., once they stopped winning races.
Thurman said she couldn't just sit back and accept that. Instead, she made several trips to Jacksonville to bring about 14 dogs home, two at a time, and take care of them until someone adopted every one of them.
A few years later, she took over as president of the Hilton Head Humane Association's board of directors. But that wasn't all for Thurman. In 1995 she created People Against Cruelty, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing abused and neglected animals.
Thurman said PAC offered a necessary service that wasn't being provided. She said animal control does the best it can, but the county agency is not able to handle all of the cruelty cases out there.
"It's impossible," Thurman said. "That's why people like us - PAC - are needed everywhere. We can help take the load off by doing the initial investigation, by documenting that there really is a case, within the law. Anybody can do what I do. ... But most people don't want to."
That's what pushed Thurman to do the job herself.
Rescuing animals hasn't been easy for Thurman. She says she has been threatened on many occasions and even assaulted a couple of times after confronting alleged abusers.
When Thurman found dogs, cows and horses chained up in yards on Hilton Head Island, sometimes with no water or food, she would talk to the animals' owners. But they were often defensive and did not want to cooperate.
When people don't comply with what's required by law, Thurman said she files a complaint with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, gets a warrant for their arrest and takes them to court.
"But the court system is failing humane work," Thurman said. "What we need to do is press the judicial system to do the right thing."
And Thurman said although many abusers are brought to trial, she thinks punishments are too lenient. Thurman cited the case of Sadie, a 3-year-old pit bull she had rescued a few years ago.
When Thurman found Sadie, half of her front right leg was cut off. Sadie's previous owner said the dog had been run over by a car, but Thurman said two veterinarians told her the dog's leg was cut in half, possibly with an ax. Thurman said the veterinarians also told her Sadie had probably suffered with her leg halfway cut off for about a week.
"Why she didn't bleed to death? I don't know," she said. "It's a mystery. But she's doing great now."
Sadie's owner was found guilty of animal cruelty. Her sentence: 40 hours of community service.
Thurman said she receives calls every day from people reporting similar cruelty. And some people just call her asking for advice on some sort of animal-related dilemma they are having.
With seven dogs currently in her care, no one helping her and an economy that's been hard on everyone, Thurman is looking for volunteers who can help her keep PAC going. She said she uses a lot of her own money to support PAC but that she can't keep doing it on her own for much longer.
"Whenever we're called, we're there," Thurman said. "But without funding, it looks bleak."