Eleven dogs with scarring and untreated medical conditions were rescued from a rural property on Goodside Road in Richland County in connection with the November 6, 2026, operation, which took place on Friday. A 57-year-old man now faces criminal charges tied to dogfighting. Thomas Hoefer was charged with animal fighting and ill treatment of animals after investigators say they found a training device used to condition dogs for fights, along with other alleged dogfighting paraphernalia scattered across the yard.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division executed a search warrant at the Goodside Road address, according to WIS News 10. Investigators worked alongside the Richland County Sheriff's Department, the Columbia Police Department, and the ASPCA, and the station reports Hoefer was identified as the dogs' owner per an affidavit. He was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center following his arrest.
Per ASPCA officials cited in the report, law enforcement found dogfighting paraphernalia in the yard of the rural property, and the dogs recovered there showed scarring and untreated medical conditions consistent with fighting. SLED also located a slat mill at the site — a device commonly used to train and condition dogs before fights, the station notes.
Dogs Now in ASPCA Care, Awaiting Evaluations
The ASPCA took in all 11 dogs for treatment and medical evaluation, and the same report indicates the animals will undergo forensic veterinary and behavioral evaluations meant to aid SLED's ongoing investigation into the case. No further details on the dogs' conditions or recovery timeline were included in the station's account.
The case adds to a string of dogfighting investigations SLED has pursued across the Columbia area in recent years. In a separate case out of Sumter County about seven weeks before the Nov. 6 operation, SLED rescued 19 dogs and charged four men, according to ABC Columbia. Three of those men were charged on September 17 with criminal conspiracy along with four counts each of animal fighting or baiting and four counts each of ill treatment of animals.
A fourth man in that Sumter County case, Robert Brandon Hansley, 44, was charged with criminal conspiracy, presence at a facility of animal fighting or baiting as a first offense, and four counts each of animal fighting or baiting and ill treatment of animals, ABC Columbia reported. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office and Sumter Police Department assisted with those arrests.
A Pattern of Seizures Since 2023
SLED has reported other Richland County dogfighting cases in recent years. In June 2025, the agency said 23 dogs, including six puppies, were seized from two Richland County residences, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. In April 2024, the agency said two dogs were rescued from an active fight in Richland County and taken to a local emergency veterinarian for treatment.
Since launching its Dogfighting Unit in 2023, SLED has said it worked with other state agencies along with numerous local, federal, and community partners to rescue nearly 600 dogs and arrest just over 100 people, though the agency's public statement does not specify the exact period those totals cover. The investigation into the November 6, 2026, Richland County case remains ongoing, WIS News 10 reports.
Anyone with information about dogfighting in South Carolina is asked to contact SLED by emailing [email protected].
