OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — Police in Olive Branch said they were looking into a possible animal cruelty case after several pit bulls were found abandoned and chained to trees.
A WREG viewer alerted law enforcement to the problem who then rescued the dogs.
On Wednesday afternoon, Olive Branch Police said they were still deciding what the charges could be.
They said this could be a case of animal cruelty or a violation for having too many animals on a property.
The five rescued pit bulls were taken to the Olive Branch Animal Shelter.
WREG tracked down a man who saw the dogs and said their living conditions were inhumane.
“I mean, all just skin and bones. There’s nothing to them, and for how big they are and how big the chains are, and they just dragged the chains and there was mud everywhere,” said Cooper Taylor who lives near where the dogs were found just off of Vera Lane.
It’s a spot that’s difficult to get to, and most people WREG talked to had no idea you could even get back there.
“We heard a bunch of barking, and we walked back there and they were all tied up to trees,” said Taylor.
On Wednesday, crime scene tape left by investigators the night before was still visible through the thick trees.
“I mean they’re living in half barrels. It’s like the barrels were cut in half,” explained Taylor.
Police told WREG they were now looking into whose property the dogs were on.
Taylor said he wasn’t sure anyone knows.
“I have no idea; it’s been wooded forever,” he admitted.
Police refused to release the name of the dogs’ owner or if they believed the dogs were used for fighting.
For now they are safe, something people in the neighborhood were glad to hear.
“Any pet, I don’t care if it’s a goldfish, if it’s not taken care of they don’t have any business keeping them,” said Willie Tate, who lives across the street from where the dogs were found.
Police said they expected to know if charges would be filed or not by the end of the week.
