Man gets 10 years in prison for throwing dogs into Georgetown canal

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - The man who hog-tied two dogs and then tossed them into a Georgetown County canal will be spending the next ten years behind bars.

On Monday in court, Bobby Joe McConnell pled guilty to two counts of ill treatment of animals.  Judge Larry Hyman sentenced McConnell to five years on each charge, to be run consecutively for a total of 10 years.

Last July, McConnell tied up two dogs with duct tape and dumped them into the International Paper canal.  Both dogs had belonged to McConnell's family.

One dog perished, but the other was pulled from the water by a nearby fisherman.

The dog has since recovered at the St. Frances Animal Center and was named "Dara" by the staff, after Olympic swimmer Dara Torres.

The judge also granted the animal center ownership of Dara so that she can now be fostered or adopted out.

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