When the dog rescuers pulled into the Jackson County farm in February, they found hundreds of dogs jammed into cages and pens. Some were injured, most were sick. There were puppies everywhere, and more threatening to come from the looks of the distended bellies of many dogs.

Animals were covered in filth and feces, state and county officials said. Many had untreated mange, open sores from injuries and from living their entire lives in wire cages, untreated broken bones, tumors, and abscessed or missing teeth. Some were blind or were missing feet, legs and even a jaw. A dog with a broken back was pregnant, one animal rescuer said.

Elissa Eubanks / AJC (ENLARGE)

This Chihuahua has multiple c-section scars and enlarged nipples from constant breeding. It is one of about 35 being kept in a Cobb County rescue facility. The cost of caring for the dogs is stretching rescue groups' budgets.

Elissa Eubanks / AJC (ENLARGE)

Four Cavalier King Charles spaniels are among the estimated 35 dogs being housed in a rescue facility in Cobb County.

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Now the more than 300 dogs taken from the farm Feb. 28 are recuperating with foster families and in the shelters of rescue groups, most of them in metro Atlanta. And as legal wrangling continues over the fate of the dogs, the cost of caring for them has pushed some of the rescue organizations that stepped up to help the animals to the financial breaking point.

Animal rescue groups were asked to help because Jackson County has no animal shelter and the state has no facilities to house dogs that must be impounded for their own safety.

State and county officials went to the state licensed dog breeding facility on Feb. 21 after a 19-year-old woman filed a nine-page, handwritten report detailing the conditions she found when she was hired to work at the L&D Farm and Kennel in Nicholson. Tiffany Butler wrote of seeing roaches crawling over all the animals, dying puppies receiving no veterinary care and dogs with open sores covering their bodies. "The more you looked in the cages, you just wanted to cry," Butler said in an interview.

Marie Hughes, her husband Ronnie Hughes, and daughters Jennifer Hughes and Brandy Stone have each been charged with five counts of felony animal cruelty and 55 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty over treatment of the animals, county officials said. Jennifer Hughes and Stone operated the kennel, Jackson County officials said. The four were released on bond.

What will happen to the dogs, and how or if the groups taking care of the dogs will be reimbursed, will be the subject of a hearing in Jackson County Superior Court on Thursday.

The Hughes did not return messages seeking comment. Their lawyer, Jeffrey Sliz, said the situation in February was unusual. "They were having trouble keeping help in the kennels," Sliz said. "I think things just got a little out of hand."

Sliz said the Hughes want their animals back. He also said they would appeal a state Department of Agriculture March 20 administrative order in the case finding that the kennel had 1,450 violations when it was inspected Feb. 21, including allowing dogs to starve to death in their pens. That inspection triggered the raid to remove the animals a week later.

The order determined the Hughes violated the Georgia Animal Protection Act and animal cruelty laws in the treatment of the dogs. The department suspended Marie Hughes' licenses for the breeding facility and sales at the nearby Pendergrass flea market and levied a $400,000 fine against her. Sliz said the family will appeal the order.

Representatives of rescue groups said puppies taken from the farm were sick and most of the adult dogs also had problems, ranging from skin infections and bad teeth to tumors and broken bones.

"Every one of these dogs required vet care," Joan Sammond, head of the Georgia SPCA, told the Jackson County Board of Commission, which discussed the case on March 17.

Sammond's Suwanee-based organization took about 140 dogs and dispersed many of them to other rescues and foster homes. She said her shelter and foster families have spent at least $4,000 total just on veterinarian bills for 80 of the animals.Stacey Hall, president of Southern Hope Humane Society in Cobb County, said her organization has spent at least $8,000 on vet bills so far for the 50 dogs they took in.

Hughes, first licensed by the state in 2001, breeds mostly small, highly adoptable dogs like poodles, Chihuahuas, pomeranians, Pekingeses and Cavalier King Charles spaniels. State Department of Agriculture officials refused to release past inspection reports on the facility, citing the continuing investigation. But state officials said the kennel had a history of violations, whcih had been resolved, allowing the Hughes to keep their dogs.

But in the February inspection, things appeared worse than they had before, said Ray DeLuca, a supervisor in the Department of Agriculture's animal protection section. That's why people now caring for the Hugheses' dogs say they hope the animals won't be returned to L&D Farms and Kennel.

"They're really sweet dogs," Hall said. "It would kill me to have to send them back."

WANT TO HELP?

A fund has been set up at LifeLine Animal Project to help pay for the care of the dogs. People who would like to make a contribution can go to www.atlantapets.org or call 404-292-8800 ext. 24.