ARAGON, Ga. — Authorities in Polk County, Georgia, are investigating after finding “one of the worst cruelty to animal cases” they’ve seen on Monday.
According to a Monday post on Polk County Police Department's Facebook page, 60-70 dogs were found about 200 yards behind a house in Aragon, which is about 50 miles east of Atlanta. By Tuesday, more than 100 dogs were discovered.
Most of the animals, which appeared to be bulldogs or a mixed breed, were malnourished and several were injured, police Chief Kenny Dodd said.
"These dogs are not vicious," Dodd said in one of many live Facebook videos posted by the department. "This breaks your heart."
The dogs were tied up and scattered throughout the remote property, which video indicated is wooded. Some of the dogs had shelter, while some did not. Most had no food or water until the officers provided it Monday afternoon.
Dodd said his officers and animal control personnel would be at the location all night guarding the animals.
Polk County Police officers currently on scene of one of the worst cruelty to animal cases we have ever seen. Somewhere around 60 to 70 dogs.
Posted by Polk County Police Department on Monday, August 28, 2017
On Monday, Dodd did not give specifics about the owner of the property or any potential charges.
“I wanted the public to see what kind of shape these dogs are in and how they’re being treated,” he said. “Hopefully this will also help in court when we prosecute.”
Dodd said he hopes they can find homes for all of the dogs. The department said those who would like to donate food for the dogs can contact Polk County Animal Control at 770-749-8908.
If you would like to donate food for the dogs, please contact Polk County Animal Control at 770-749-8908. Thank you to...
Posted by Polk County Police Department on Tuesday, August 29, 2017
The dogs were taken out of the property Tuesday.
WSB reported that police arrested Devechio Rowland, the man claiming to be the dogs' owner. He has been charged with 70 counts of animal cruelty.
“He says he was feeding and watering them. It appears like he was trying, but it took us an hour with 10 of us to feed and water them,” Dodd said.
Dodd said Rowland has a history with animals. He was charged in 2010 with dogfighting, but the case didn’t move forward because the main witness couldn’t testify.
Investigators are trying to figure out if any of the dogs were stolen. People with lost pets have been reaching out to the Police Department on Facebook.
“The people that are coming to help us have a scanner to scan for chips because a lot of these pet owners are saying, ‘My dog has a chip.’ So hopefully we’ll be able to recover some people’s lost dogs,” Dodd said.
The dogs not matched with their owners will go up for adoption.
Cox Media Group
