“The nature of this case is deeply disturbing,” Animal Rescue Corps’ executive director said of the operation

NEED TO KNOW

• Animal Rescue Corps removed 47 animals from a Tennessee property linked to a sanctuary under investigation for alleged cruelty
• The animals were found in poor conditions with signs of neglect and are now receiving care and treatment
• Authorities are investigating whether the property with the animals was a failed rescue or a fraudulent operation exploiting donors.

Forty-seven animals, including 37 dogs, six of them still nursing puppies, are safe and beginning to recover after being pulled from a Tennessee property connected to a sanctuary currently under investigation.

The animals were surrendered to authorities on Monday, Aug. 11, and taken in by Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), a national nonprofit that handles large-scale cruelty cases. The rescue, codenamed Operation Money Trail, brought in seven chickens, two turkeys and a pig, along with the dogs, from the Cheatham County, Tennessee, property tied to recent animal abuse allegations involving Cane-9 Rescue and Sanctuary.

According to WKRN, investigators in Georgia recently served search warrants and arrested founder Jennifer Lovette Caneup and her brother-in-law, Joshua Caneup, at separate Cane-9 properties as part of a probe into alleged animal cruelty and fraud. As the investigation continues, authorities moved the animals to safety.

“The nature of this case is deeply disturbing,” ARC executive director Tim Woodward said in a statement. He described a pattern he says is spreading and may be at the heart of this situation: groups presenting themselves as legitimate rescues in need of donations to save animals, when in reality the operators pocket the donations and fail to provide “even the most basic standards of care.”

Speaking to PEOPLE exclusively, Woodward says the motive behind this particular case is still an open question. “We don’t know for certain if we’re looking at a ‘rescue gone wrong’ or individuals posing as a rescue with malicious intent from the beginning to take money from people who believed donating was the only way they could help the animals. Unfortunately, the tragic result is the same,” he says. “Both of these scenarios are more common across the country than people realize, and well-meaning donors can be driven by compassion to support organizations or individuals they know very little about.”

What responders found at the Tennessee property was grim. Animals were spread across pens and makeshift kennels, the enclosures filled with waste, bones and debris. Investigators also cataloged the remains of numerous animals on the grounds, including multiple fowl, four goats and a piglet. One rescued turkey was so badly injured, and its wounds so long untreated, that veterinarians recommended euthanizing it.

Inside the home itself, where many of the dogs had been kept, responders measured ammonia in the air at levels high enough to endanger the animals’ ability to breathe near the floor. Exams revealed signs of prolonged neglect across the group: animals that were underweight and dehydrated, plus ear and eye infections, internal parasites and ringworm.

Since Wednesday, Aug. 13, the rescued animals have undergone extensive exams to determine their health and needs, an ARC representative confirmed to PEOPLE, and all are responding well. The dogs arrived caked in filth and reeking of urine, so bathing them became an early priority.

The change afterward was hard to miss. The dogs were “ecstatically grateful and joyous” after their baths and initial care, jumping for attention where, a day earlier, they had stood “like statues,” the representative added.

The dogs are being cared for at ARC’s rescue center outside of Nashville, where they’re getting veterinary treatment, vaccinations, proper food, behavioral support and a safe place to stay. The chickens, the surviving turkey and the pig have gone to Piccolo Farms Animal Sanctuary, an ARC partner that takes in farm animals.

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