Horry County Police busted a puppy mill located in the 6300 block of Highway 65 and rescued more than 140 puppies and dogs.

The 146 dogs that were seized around 9 am Wednesday are now at the Horry County Animal Care Center and all will soon be available for adoption.

A woman, Renee James, age 49,  charged under Horry County Ordinance 4-3 for failure to provide proper care and treatment of animals.

Police said that James sold the dogs at Pet Safari, a Conway pet store, which she owns. She was fined $445 for the incident.

“They panic; they don’t know what to do,” said Lieutenant Raul Denis with the Horry County Police Department. “They panic and freeze and try to hug the ground. It’s disturbing to watch an animal that has never been on solid ground,” he added.

For hours, The Horry County Animal Care Center brought in truck loads of dogs.

In total, there were 146 dogs rescued by Horry County Police.

“It’s sad to watch those animals in that conditions they don’t understand what’s going on. They were bred in captivity and held in cages just to bread more,” said Denis

Each dog received three vaccinations upon arrival; costing $1,845 in total.

Unfortunately this type of situation is something the center has gotten used to dealing with.

“Puppy mills are a breeding factory where the bottom line is profit and then we get involved and this is what happens,” said Gary Gause.

Gause is the director of the Horry County Animal Care Center.

He says the shelter can hold 250 dogs.

He says by the latest, the dogs will be up for adoption next week.

However a lot of these dogs have not yet been spayed or neutered and many are pregnant; that means the total number of dogs will rise.

And the center euthanizes if they go past the 250 capacity.

Gause says there are other organizations helping out, but for many dogs their lives rely on support from the community.

The suspect was charged with the same crime almost exactly a year ago.

That means in one year they were again able to breed at least 120 dogs.

Law enforcement say the suspect may face 123 charges of animal cruelty; a misdemeanor.

If you are interested in adopting visit the Horry County Animal Control Center at 1923 Industrial Park Rd, Conway, SC 29526 or call (843) 915-5172.

You can also visit the center’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Horry-County-Animal-Care-Center/232335916808165