A Crossville animal rescue group discovered multiple dogs suffering from animal cruelty on an abandoned property in Cumberland County and evidence those dogs were being used for dog fighting.

“Dog fighting is happening here on a daily basis,” said Karen McMeeken with A Time 4 Paws.

She said she has proof.

When volunteers got to the property, they found seven dogs tied up with oversized logging chains. All seven of the dogs were covered in cuts and scars similar with what you would see on animals used in dog fighting.

The dogs were tied to trees and tires, malnourished, filled with parasites and severely wounded. Injured dogs weren’t all McMeeken found.

“We did find bones of many animals that had died and been disposed of on the property. So we don’t know how many. There were so many that we could not piece them together to determine how many animals there were,” she said.

What they could piece together were clues that these animals were being used for dog fights.

“We found a treadmill for conditioning. We also found bite sticks, which are used in dog fighting,” she said. They also found more than 40 bags of high protein dog food, a medical kit, and scales.

McMeeken said the dogs are proof themselves. Not only did they have open wounds and scars, but their teeth were filed down. McMeeken said that’s a sign that the dogs were “bait dogs” and literally used as bait to train the fighting dogs.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded for comment about the investigation.

A Time 4 Paws needs help paying for more than $5,000 in vet bills and finding homes for the dogs. They are up for adoption, but because of their history they need to be in single pet homes. (WATE-TV)