NORTH NORWICH – Seven Pit Bulls have been rescued and are said to be doing well after a Johnson City man was ticketed for animal cruelty charges.

Anthony Thompson, 35 of Johnson City was linked to the animals and residence on Whaupaunaucau Road in North Norwich. Thompson now faces the misdemeanor charge of overdriving, torturing, or injuring an animal; essentially Thompson is said to have failed to provide adequate water, shelter or food for the seven dogs who were recovered on the property.

A concerned neighbor on Whaupaunaucau Road allegedly alerted the Chenango County Sheriff's Office to animal abuse.

After obtaining a warrant from the courts on Jan. 29, members of the CCSO along with Matt Bates, The North Norwich Dog Control Officer returned on Jan. 30. to the property.

Bates was assisted by Rick Crowell, The Town of Sherburne Dog Control Officer.

Bates and Crowell along with the Sheriff’s Deputies at the scene found the dogs down in the wooded area behind the residence. Allegedly the seven dogs were all chained with short logging chains.

“Inadequate shelter with the barrels, they had no water or food, the one dog was licking ice to get fluid in them. It is just something you don’t see around here, something I would never picture seeing. The worst case I have ever worked, it is just really disturbing,” said Bates.

According to Lieutenant Richard Cobb of the CCSO, Thompson's attorney had made contact with the CCSO prior to them pinpointing Thompson as the owner of the residence and/or dogs.

Additionally Cobb said that a veterinarian at Compassionate Care, claimed there were significant signs of the dogs being involved in dog fighting.

Crowell went on to explain his observations in regards to the dog fighting allegations, noting scars, surroundings, and demeanor of the dogs.

“There has been a lot of studies and this is very typical of a dog fighting scenario, where they are being housed and trained. They take dogs called bait dogs and they file their teeth down manually,” said Crowell. “There were a couple of male dogs there with their teeth filed down. These dogs are used to taunt the dogs that are actually going to fight, as training. These bait dogs usually end up dying because they are just a training tool.”

According to all involved despite some difficulties in initially transporting the dogs from the property, all seven of the dogs have been transported to a local veterinarian and are doing much better than previously.

Thompson was charged and cited with appearance ticket for these alleged crimes, and is set to appear in court at a later date.

There is an ongoing investigation into the dog fighting allegations.