WCTV Eyewitness News

More than 100 dogs are recovering after the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office rescued them from animal hoarders in Live Oak. Cheryl Articas, 53, and William Grau, 78, were arrested on 118 counts of animal cruelty Tuesday morning, the sheriff's office says.

Rescue volunteers drove several vans filled with dogs from the home in the 7000 block of Walker Place to the Suwannee County Animal Shelter. Suwannee County Sheriff Sam St. John says the dogs had awful living conditions. "Maybe like a 30 by 40 pen with 80 dogs in it, and the living conditions were just horrendous," he says.

Although the dogs varied in their conditions, a lot of them had skin infections or could barely walk. Some of the rescue volunteers told WCTV they'd never seen a case this bad. The sheriff's office said its deputies and volunteers took in 118 dogs. Once the dogs got to the shelter, veterinarians listened to their hearts and lungs, checked for broken bones and provided flea and tick prevention.

"Thank God we got there to save these babies, because it's just such sad living conditions," Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder Lauree Simmons said "And they didn't have any hope without us. I;m just glad we could get them back to the ranch, get them medically treated, get them healthy and get them a home they deserve."

Volunteers from Big Dog Ranch Rescue came all the way from West Palm Beach. The group will take around 50 dogs to the ranch with them. A lot of these dogs will have a long road to recovery, and volunteers say they don't know how long it will take. They also say they do have hope for all of these dogs, and eventually they will be ready to be adopted.

The sheriff's office says this animal cruelty case is still under investigation.