A Marine from Beaufort's Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) faces several felony charges of animal cruelty for reportedly neglecting five pets she was hired to watch during a Hilton Head man's vacation, leaving one dog to die of starvation after not visiting the owner's house for a five-day period.
Victoria Marie Spencer, 20, was arrested Thursday morning at MCAS Beaufort and released on bond just a few hours later, said Maj. Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff's office.
Spencer was hired via the online pet-sitting service Trusted Housesitters to watch two dogs and three cats belonging to the islander, who lives in Hilton Head Plantation, Viens said. Investigators say the woman agreed to pet-sit for a nine-day period in the beginning of September, with regular visits to the home to feed the animals and let the dogs out of their kennels.
After not hearing from Spencer a few days into his vacation, the homeowner checked the footage from his doorbell camera at the home's front entrance — only to discover Spencer appeared not to have visited the house for the past five to six days, according to Viens. He frantically phoned a neighbor, who checked the house to find the animals in a heart-rending state of neglect.
Both dogs' kennels were “cluttered with feces” and tattered bedding, according to a Sheriff's Office report, and one dog had died due to a lack of food and water. The other was…
