LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A pet owner is behind bars after investigators say they found his seven dogs without food or water.

Animal Control officials say they arrived at the home and soon realized the dogs had been there for awhile and had been neglected.

All seven of them were in bad shape when animal control was called to Earl Howard Road in Laurel County.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad. Especially with the two you could see their spines. They were pretty thin. And there were a few that was borderline," said Chad Robinson, an animal control officer in Laurel County.

So who was responsible for these dogs? Sheriff's deputies say 44-year-old Vincent Masur, who is now charged with seven counts of animal cruelty.

"Yeah, they were starved. The dogs were really skinny, just bones," said Vincent Masur, who is behind bars at the Laurel County Detention Center.

Masur's story from jail is he found the dogs and was trying to nurse them back to health.

But with bones visible and no food or water bowls in sight, animal control officials say it is obvious these dogs have been neglected.

The dogs are expected to make a full recovery within another month or so of shelter, food, and water.

Masur is in the Laurel County Detention Center on a $2,500 cash bond.

The dogs are not to be released from the animal shelter until December.