Allendale County Man Dwayne Loadholt Charged with Animal Fighting, Cruelty

Dwayne Loadholt, 43, who has been identified as living in Fairfax in Allendale County, was charged with animal fighting/baiting and ill treatment of animals following an investigation led by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents. The charges are being handled as felonies and the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute the case.

Arrest warrants filed in the case allege Loadholt owned at least one dog for the purpose of fighting or “baiting.” The warrants further allege that Loadholt knowingly deprived the animals of “necessary sustenance and shelter,” language taken directly from the court documents. Prosecutors also allege failures to provide adequate shelter, water or medical care to the dogs.

Investigators described the animals found on the property as pit bull type dogs. The arrest documents and agency reports note scarring on the dogs’ faces, ears, necks and front legs and an injury to an eye. Those physical signs are cited in the warrants as part of the basis for the felony charges of animal fighting and ill treatment.

The case began when an Allendale County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a call for service at Loadholt’s property on a Tuesday after complaints that animals were being mistreated there. Deputies told investigators that similar complaints had