21 horses and a dog found dead on abandoned property

WAKE COUNTY, North Carolina -- A horrific case of animal cruelty unfolded Friday where 21 horses and one dog were found dead on an abandoned lot.

Gwen Roberts, who runs Horses for Hope, which is about a mile away from where the dead animals were discovered, said a neighbor contacted her because she suspected there might be animals in trouble there.

The neighbor had called animal control, Roberts said the agency didn't stop, possibly because the property isn't readily visible from the road.

Roberts said she and the neighbor walked through the woods to the abandoned property and found the dead horses in various states of decomposition.

"When I walked back there and went around the corner, it was just horrifying ... they were all dead," Roberts said. "It was just bad. It was really bad. They didn't have to die. All they had to do is ask for help. It's really sad," Roberts said.

Eric Curry of the Wake County Sheriff's Office said there was one survivor, a dog who was in bad shape, but alive in the same cage as the dead dog.

Roberts said there were empty water jugs strewn across the property.

Curry said this is now an animal cruelty investigation. Animal control officers worked long hours to remove the dead animals.

"As an animal owner myself, it is quite disturbing for any animal to have to suffer, like these animals, we assume, did," Curry said.