Witness in Dog Dragging Receives $1,500 Reward

WINNSBORO (Aug. 25, 2016) – The July sentencing of Billy Ray Huskey, the man who dragged a dog almost to death behind a pickup truck last December, was not the end of the horrific story that gripped Fairfield County for the better part of the first half of this year. The story finished bittersweet for the dog who was dragged and for the person who came forward to identify the dragger and bring justice for the dog.

And for that brave gesture of coming forward, the person who identified Huskey was rewarded with $1,500 from the Hoof & Paw Benevolent Society earlier this month.

At first reluctant to take the reward money, saying identifying Huskey was just something tha had to be done, the witness was eventually persuaded by the members of Hoof & Paw to accept the offer. However the group did not identify the witness.

During a meeting scheduled at the Sheriff’s office between the witness and the Hoof & Paw members, Deborah Richelle, President of the group, handed a cashier’s check to the person she called a hero for standing up for the dragged dog, for all animals and for humanity.

Richelle and other members chatted with the witness, alternately thanking the person and asking burning questions they had wrestled with for months and that only this person could answer. He/she answered them all. They also asked where the person had seen the poster that was distributed throughout Fairfield and Chester counties.

The answer – in a copy of The Voice that was delivered to the person’s home.

Then the members of Hoof & Paw had a special surprise. Member Minge Wiseman opened the door and brought in the dog that had been dragged – now handsome, healed (though not entirely whole) and healthy. He was adopted three months ago by a loving family with several other dogs on a farm in Fairfield County. The reunion scene was quiet but emotional, members of the group told The Voice, and something that they said they will never forget.

“It was a wonderful meeting that I think brought some closure to some really sad, bad memories for this person,” Hoof & Paw member Kathy Faulk said. “It brought some closure for all of us, too. And I hope the folks who reached deep in their pockets for reward money for a dog and a hero they didn’t even know will read this and know the immensely important role they played in bringing justice for this dog. And we also hope that everyone who reads this story will know that the next time something like this happens, we will be right there with an even bigger reward in an effort to bring the perpetrator to justice.”

Faulk identified the donors of the $1,500 reward as: Jimmy Ray Douglas, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, Dawn Paulus, Cindy Waund, Paula and Frank Spinale and three other individuals who wished to remain anonymous.