Animals being nursed back to health

DENVER, N.C. -- Nearly 400 animals rescued from a Lincoln County home are being treated for illnesses and malnourishment.

Animals include dogs, cats, rodents, horses, a llama, birds. The county and Animal Human Society are caring for 17 different species overall.

What happens to the animals and their owners hasn’t been determined.

Photos taken by authorities show nearly 400 animals on Vicki and Michael Rauch's property. Almost 100 of them were inside the family’s house.

Kennels were stacked on top of one another.

"I think they all were in some sort of distress,” said Lincoln County Animal Services Director Jack Kerley.

More images of the rescued animals

Kerley says the animals are unhealthy and malnourished and that is why the county rescued them Tuesday.

The animals are now housed in a warehouse, getting better slowly with medical treatment, vaccinations and food.

"They're not having to compete, they're not having to fight for food. The food is there,” Kerley said. "They're dry. They're warm. They're being cared for, being handled, being fed regularly."

Vicki Rauch says they were getting fed and some were treated for illnesses.

"That's news to me,” Kerley reacted.

Rauch says some animals were doing better at her place than when she "initially" rescued them. She says other places wouldn't take them or planned to euthanize them. She denies mistreatment.

The Department of Social Services removed two of the Rauch's children due to the conditions. She has not gotten the children, who are 3 and 10 years old, back yet.

Vicki Rauch says the whole thing is appalling. The county says each of the pictures is worth a thousand words.

Rauch says she plans on suing the county. She alleges they broke the law by not giving her a detailed list of everything they took.

No one in the family has been charged with a crime although Rauch says she expects that to happen.

A judge is expected to decide the animals’ fate. That could be a few weeks.

Meanwhile, Rauch says the stress has put her 19-year-old son in the hospital. Rauch says some of the animals were his and he planned to open a pet store.