FAIRFIELD COUNTY – On the morning of Jan. 31, 2026, Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the Fairfield County Animal Shelter regarding a fight between two Fairfield County Detention Center trustees (inmates who work at the shelter), according to an incident report obtained by The Voice.

The report states that trustee Thomas Richard Johnson Jr. told deputies that he observed two trustees [“A” and “B”] spraying dogs with water inside the shelter in an attempt to make them fight, and that he made them stop. Johnson stated that trustee “A” then told him, “Wait until we get back to the dorm.” That prompted Johnson to retrieve a shovel because he believed a confrontation would occur, the report stated.

Johnson admitted to striking trustee “A” on the head with the shovel.

Evidence of Dog Fighting

As Johnson was being questioned by deputies, the shelter’s volunteer coordinator Heather Feltner and a woman from Mid-Carolina K-9 arrived in separate vehicles at the shelter where they had an appointment for the woman to pick up two dogs she was going to foster over the weekend. Feltner and the woman hurriedly picked up the dogs, put them in the woman’s vehicle, and the woman left with the dogs.

Trustee “A” was taken by EMS to MUSC Fairfield for evaluation of his head injury. Johnson was charged with assault and battery and taken back to the detention center.

There was no indication in the incident report that either the deputies or county officials went inside the shelter to investigate the alleged dog fight before they left the property.

County Administrator Vic Carpenter, however, told The Voice that Joey Price, Director of Community Safety Services was on the premises soon after the deputies were called and that “an investigation did occur which determined that there was no intentional effort by inmates to fight dogs.

Feltner, when interviewed by The Voice, said that after deputies and county officials left the shelter property, she and Shelter Manager Neely Thomasson checked inside the shelter and discovered a Rottweiler named Princess in a bloody kennel with puncture wounds around her face and neck and heavy bleeding from a puncture wound in the armpit.

Feltner said she and Thomasson consulted via phone with a county veterinary assistant who gave instructions on how to stop the bleeding and instructed that the injured dog should be seen by a veterinarian. When the bleeding was stopped, Feltner said Thomasson returned the dog to her kennel with plans to check on her Sunday morning. The dog was found dead in her kennel on Monday morning.

Later in the day on Jan. 31, the day of the shelter incident, the woman from Mid-Carolina K-9 said one of the dogs she picked up earlier that day from the shelter – a pit bull mix – was found to have puncture wounds on the head and neck.

Shelter Turmoil

In an email to county officials on March 2, shelter volunteer Aimee Griffith said she heard the Jan. 31 shelter incident over her husband’s EMS radio, and that she had become increasingly concerned about the safety of both the shelter animals and staff.

The following are some of the issues Griffith expressed concern for in her email:

• Unsupervised detention center trustees allegedly fighting dogs inside the shelter.
• Administration’s continued failure to install security surveillance cameras in the shelter.
• Lack of supervision over four trustees who work weekends at the shelter with usually only a female employee on site.
• Reducing all dogs’ food (no matter the size of the dog) to one cup per day for almost two months with the stated goal of less poop in the kennels.
• Shelter vehicles routinely left unlocked with gas cards in the glove boxes.

Griffith told The Voice that she had no response from county officials.

On March 20 – a little over two weeks after Griffith sent the email – Thomasson sent an email to Feltner, notifying her that the county was shutting down all volunteer activity at the shelter, effective immediately, until the county could provide volunteers with updated “critical information” (new applications, job descriptions, volunteer guidelines, etc.) 

A couple of days later, Thomasson notified the shelter’s rescue partners (organizations that move animals from the Fairfield shelter to other shelters across the country for adoption) that she would be replacing Feltner as the volunteer coordinator until further notice.

The Voice reached out to County Administrator Vic Carpenter with emailed questions, asking if there had been any violations by volunteers or complaints from county management about the volunteers that would have initiated the volunteers being ‘shut down.’ 

“The emails that I am aware of never inferred that,” Carpenter answered.

Volunteers Speak Out

At the county council meeting on Monday, March 23, two Fairfield County animal shelter volunteers chastised the county government during public comment for cutting ties with the shelter volunteers whose work, they said, is vital to the welfare of the shelter animals.

Addressing council, Fairfield County resident and shelter volunteer Boo Major placed the blame for the current shelter turmoil squarely at the feet of shelter oversight, citing unqualified management.

“Heather Feltner has worked tirelessly with the shelter as a volunteer, creating Hearts Unleashed for the sole benefit of the abandoned animals of this county,” Major said.

“She has been a Godsend. By alienating volunteers in this 501(c)(3) program, the animals become vulnerable to the whims of those in charge.

“I see no checks and balances within the animal shelter due to potential repercussions when employees do not fall in line,” Major continued. “Shelters survive humanely, safely, and positively with the help and dedication of volunteers, rescue organizations, and good leadership. The current leadership at the shelter and their policies are not the answer,” Major said. “I question their ability to lead the shelter to more positive outcomes for the animals without the volunteers.”

Lack of Experience

Press releases issued by the county regarding previous work experience of Joey Price, who oversees the shelter, and Thomasson, who manages it, did not list any work experience for either as related to animal shelters or animal care and control when they were both hired by the county less than two years ago.

Carpenter said he did not hire either of them.

“I don’t know whether that (animal shelter experience) was ever considered,” Carpenter said. “It was not Germain to the jobs that they were doing at the time.”

According to the county’s public information officer, Gene Stephens, Joey Price was hired in November 2024, as the county’s emergency management 911 director. He had eight years’ experience in emergency management and 34 years in EMS, with 32 of those years as a paramedic.

In November 2025, after only a year with the county, Price was promoted to a newly created position of Director of Community and Safety Services, according to a county press release dated Nov. 10, 2025. That position came with significant management oversight over four departments: the animal shelter, animal control, detention center, and emergency management/E-911 dispatch, according to the release.

The Voice requested Price’s and Thomasson’s county employment records through a Freedom of Information request that was denied by county administration on Tuesday, March 24.

The county’s attorney Tommy Morgan gave this reason for the denial:

“It is the County’s position that, except under certain limited circumstances, personnel records are subject to exemption from production under FOIA pursuant to S.C. Code Section 30-4-40(a)(2) as “[information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute unreasonable invasion of personal privacy…” Because the employees whose personnel records you have requested are not senior management or law enforcement employees, your request for copies of personnel records related to their employment with the County is denied pursuant to S.C. Code Section 30-4-40(a)(2).”

S.C. Media Attorney Jay Bender disagreed with the denial.

“The county attorney is incorrect in citing the unreasonable invasion of personal privacy exemption and in claiming that only top administrators and law enforcement records are subject to disclosure,” said Bender, who represents the S.C. Press Association.

Several county officials said they were not sure whether the job was ever posted for others to apply.

Carpenter said it is not correct that Price was promoted to a new position.

“No, that is not correct,” Carpenter said, “No new positions were created. Mr Price was given additional duties that still included his current ones. He added animal control, animal shelter and the detention center in addition to his remaining duties as emergency manager and 9-11 director. County Council was fully apprised of my intention to do that before it was ever effectuated.” (See copy of the Nov. 10 press release describing Price’s new position title and duties on The Voice’s website at blythewoodonline.com).”

Thomasson was hired by the county in August 2024, as a kennel attendant at the shelter. She was promoted to animal control officer, and 18 months after being hired, she was promoted by Price to manager of the animal shelter and adoption center.

According to Kathy Faulk, president of Hoof and Paw – an organization that donates funds used by the shelter for heartworm treatment for dogs and other medical issues – the volunteers manage adoption/foster/rescue programs and donate thousands of man hours annually, truck loads of pet food, medical care and medicines, and other supplies and equipment for the shelter.

Hearts Unleashed, a 501(c)(3) run by Feltner, obtained a $13,000 grant last November for a dog play yard for the shelter. She also arranged for two truck loads of 11 pallets (8,000 pounds) of dog and cat food that arrived last week. Feltner has also organized programs like Doggie Daycation to encourage adoption in the community and enhance the quality of life for shelter animals.

Some volunteers have spoken out about the county’s surprise shutdown of shelter volunteers after Griffith exposed what she considered unsafe and unhealthy shelter practices to which she says county administration has long turned a blind eye.

The Voice reached out to Price and Thomasson for comment. Both have said they will email their comments. Those comments will be added to the story on The Voice’s website as they become available.