Colleton County resident says she was denied chance to respond after Cottageville dog‑welfare dispute

Rebecca Hamilton, a Colleton County resident, told Colleton County Council on July 8 that she was prevented from responding to public statements about an incident she says she witnessed in Cottageville.

"I was at the Cottageville Library when another patron and I noticed the dog in distress," Hamilton said. She told the council the animal was left in a camper in a police station parking lot without water and was visibly uncomfortable in the heat. Hamilton said the station was locked and no one answered when she tried to alert officers.

Hamilton said she later encountered the mayor, the town treasurer and another unidentified person. She said the Cottageville police chief arrived visibly agitated and threatened her with arrest rather than addressing her concerns. Hamilton said she asked the mayor twice to de‑escalate but received no response.

"I was present at the [Cottageville] meeting and requested to speak, but I was told I could not speak because I live just outside the town limits," Hamilton told the council. "As a county resident, that was not only frustrating, it was disheartening. I was directly involved in the incident, yet I was denied the basic fairness of being allowed to respond."

Hamilton said the police chief was given 20 minutes at the town council meeting to present his version of events and that she was not allowed a similar opportunity to correct or respond to public accusations. She asked the county to uphold fairness and transparency in public proceedings and to consider that county residents may be directly affected by town actions.

Council members did not take action on Hamilton’s remarks during the meeting. Hamilton’s statement identifies the town of Cottageville, the town mayor, the town treasurer and the Cottageville police chief as parties in her account; the transcript does not include on‑the‑record responses from those town officials at the Colleton County meeting.