Denise Gray's pit bull accidentally hung himself last Wednesday while trying to jump a fence in her backyard in Bennettsville and Marlboro county Animal Control took her dogs remains to the landfill without letting her know.
Gray didn't find out about her dog Otis' remains being removed until the next day.
"They did no follow up. They did not leave a note on the door. They did not check with the neighbors. Have compassion and Otis deserved so much more than that. He deserved a proper burial. Much more respect than what he got. Much more respect than what we got. We deserve more. I mean we had the right to bury our dog," Gray said.
Gray states she wasn't home when Otis died. She had been staying with her mother for a few days because Gray's air conditioning unit wasn't working.
She added her mother lives three blocks from her and she constantly checked on Otis.
Gray's neighbor called 911 to report her dog's death.
An animal control officer responded and took the dog's remains to a landfill in Lee County.
Officials with the Bennettsville Animal Shelter said the animal control officer didn't leave a note but did leave messages with Gray's neighbors in an effort to reach her.
Officials with the shelter add the city stores the remains of animals in a freezer and when it's full, they take the remains to the landfill and the day Otis died, the freezer had already reached its limit.
Gray wishes they would have waited and made another effort to reach her.
"We're living with the fact that he died a horrible death and now we got to live with the fact that we don't even get to say goodbye."
Officials say Gray was in violation of a city ordinance that dogs are placed in kennels and fences and not on chains.
Her family held a memorial for Otis Monday night. Gray's young daughters wrote letters to him and some of his favorite toys will remain near his dog house.
