FORT VALLEY, Ga. — On the morning of July 5, Tammy Knowland from Peach County Animal Rescue says she was called to Plant Street to take two dogs to an emergency shelter to be checked out.
"The sergeant called me on duty, and said that they had a house fire and there was dogs there, no owner, no one could be found. It was an abandoned property, could I please come help," says Knowland.
She says they ended up taking all 10 from the property.
"Hair loss, sores, ears, you know, damage to their ears, that's primarily what the injuries were to them," she says.
Knowland says the living conditions were filthy and a vet found that some were also malnourished.
She says she believes those were signs of prior injuries and abuse.
Knowland says the sheriff's office initially asked her to return the dogs to their owner, but she refuses.
"When you're an animal rescue, It's not a job you choose, it chooses you and you have to be the voice for the voiceless, no different than people who handle child abuse," she says.
Knowland says she's now gone straight to Sheriff Terry Deese with her concerns. On Wednesday, he met with her to check the property on Plant Street, and met the dogs.
He says they are opening the investigation based on what he saw.
"We're investigating that it's cruelty to animals," he says.
Sheriff Deese says he's reached out to the district attorney's office to discuss possible charges against the dogs' owner.
As a reminder, Peach County is just one Central Georgia county that does not have animal control yet, but it's in the works.
The animal control building will be next to the sheriff's office.
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