Editor’s Note: The details of this story may be disturbing for some readers.

JACKSON COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – Two people in Jackson County, West Virginia, are facing animal cruelty charges after authorities found two deceased dogs on a property.

According to the Jackson County, WV, Sheriff’s Office, deputies were attempting to arrest one of the suspects, Michael “JJ” Roush, of Ravenswood, on an unrelated warrant at a home in Jackson County. While looking for Roush, deputies say they found two dead dogs chained in separate dog boxes.

The sheriff’s office says the two dogs on the property were “found to be deceased and in a stage of decomposition,” leading deputies to believe they had most likely been dead for several weeks. Deputies say the dogs were laying in fetal positions and that the “obvious cause of death” was “extreme malnutrition.”

According to the sheriff’s office, the second suspect, Janine Whytsell, of Ravenswood, allegedly confirmed to deputies, that the dogs had not been fed for a lengthy period of time.

Roush and Whytsell were both arrested and are each facing two counts of cruelty to animals, deputies say.