UPDATE: Dog attack victim’s lawyer speaks on progress difficulties

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - We continue to investigate dogs running loose and attacking neighbors in the Upstate.

Last month, we told you about dogs attacking a man named James Pittman, near Skyline Road, in the Spartanburg County part of Greer. Those dogs were impounded to check for rabies and returned. Read about that here.

While following up, we found out that this has been happening for more than ten years.

Back in 2019, we covered an attack near Gap Creek Road. Barbara Lee was bitten by five dogs while attending a funeral and paying respects to her husband at WoodLawn Memorial Park, in Greer. The dogs were owned by the same couple: Daisy and Timothy Chad Anderson.

Lee’s attorney, Wes Kissinger, is still pursuing justice three years later. The lawsuit was filed in 2021. There is a default judgement, because Daisy hasn’t answered. She was subpoenaed for a deposition, she was served, and she didn’t show up. Kissinger is also representing Daisy’s landlord.

“Mrs. Lee has close to $20,000 in medical bills. She has permanent nerve damage in her left leg. She had to go through a series of rabies shots,” said Kissinger.

Daisy Anderson has quite the criminal history and has taken the bulk of the complaints, citations, and fines. At the time, her last name was Lawrence. And the dogs were with her at an address on Gap Creek Road. The name rang a bell for Kissinger.

“Oddly enough, I remembered that I had actually sued Daisy Ann Lawrence, years ago, in a dog attack that was near that same location,” Kissinger said.

We spent hours looking through the documents of Kissinger’s Freedom of Information Act request. Daisy has been subpoenaed at least twice. And at one point, she had five arrest warrants. There are two statements of surrender documented.

On the day of Lee’s attack, reports show an officer was interviewing Daisy from the back of a police car as she was being arrested for outstanding warrants. She still wouldn’t surrender the dogs and no explanation for how they got out.

“Spartanburg County code spells out what those violations are and what the penalties are,” said Kissinger, “And then, they’re pursuing that. I don’t think the law necessarily contemplates a serial offender.”

And that’s why victims are having such a hard time. The crime is a misdemeanor. It goes like this: you’re fined or you go to jail for up to 30 days. Then, as Kissinger explains, the cycle continues repeatedly. He says he doesn’t have high hopes that Lee will be compensated.

“That’s the problem with this kid of case. We can get a judgment against Mrs. Anderson, but collecting it is something entirely different. She has judgements pending against her, already, that have not been paid,” Kissinger said.

The Andersons have racked up $12,000 in unpaid fines.

On Spartanburg County Environmental Enforcements reports, at least eight different dogs were involved in attacks over the years. The complaints range from bites, to running at large, to no visible rabies tags.

Kissinger knows this is an ongoing battle.

“I have a commitment to Mrs. Lee. She is a wonderful lady. And she’s been through a lot,” Kissinger said, “So, I will pursue this to the end, for sure, regardless of the outcome financially.”

We have tried to contact the Andersons by leaving a letter in their mailbox. There has been no response. Someone claiming to be Timothy Anderson’s sibling reached out. We were supposed to sit down and talk, but they stopped responding. We will keep trying.

Daisy Anderson is still at the Spartanburg County Detention Center. She was sentenced to 90 days.

We will be there for Daisy’s next court date in November.

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