98 dogs have been rescued from what officials are calling "deplorable" living conditions. They describe the dogs as emaciated, sick and unsocialized.

"This is not right. This is just not right,” says Irene Sumner, director of the Laurens County Humane Society:

About 3 months ago, private investigation firm Norred & Associates received an anonymous tip about an alleged dog fighting ring at a home on Robert Webb Road.

CEO Greg Norred says, "We verified the information and got with the Laurens County Sheriff's Department. We monitored the location for the last couple months and conducted a joint investigation.”

They executed a search warrant on Thursday. The animals were seized but, so far, no arrests have been made.

Sheriff Bill Harrell says, "We're just making sure we're get all our I's dotted and our T's crossed. We're going to be as fair as we can on everything and we're making sure that everything that's wrong - we're going to take care of it."

Humane society volunteers say they were shocked by the sheer number of dogs in the backyard.

"They're literally everywhere in the woods,” says Terry Wolf with Southern Comfort Animal Rescue. “You walk in and you think you se a cluster of 3 or 4, and they all just start popping up from behind trees or behind crates or fallen trees."

There were puppies, adults and pregnant females. Most were restrained with 25 pound chains.

"[There were] huge, huge chains,” Sumner says. “The collars are so worn around their necks that the fur is gone. There are sores and scars around their necks where they've been worn

They say most of the dogs had no shelter, feces in their food bowls and only moss covered rainwater to drink. They also found a dead puppy inside a food bag.

"It's horrific. It's heartbreaking. It's criminal,” Wolf says. “Why would you have that many dogs in this condition in the woods?"

Volunteers have taken the dogs to an undisclosed location, where they will be bathed, housed and given medical care until the court system decides what will happen to them.

Friends and family members of the dogs’ owner, Monty Loyd, declined to appear on camera. But they tell FOX 24 News that Loyd loved his dogs. They say he has been breeding dogs for about 25 years, and that he sells them as show dogs and for hog hunting.