KINGSTON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WCMH) — Forty dogs have been removed from a Delaware County property after a video showing their living conditions went viral over the weekend.

On Sunday, the Delaware County Dog Warden removed the dogs — most believed to be pit bulls or pit bull mixes — from a property on the 7000 block of Kilbourne Road in the northeastern part of the county.

According to a statement released by the county, the owner of the property was not at home at the time the dogs were removed and no charges have been filed at this point, but are anticipated.

The removal of the dogs started at approximately 11:30 a.m. Sunday and took about three hours. The dog warden had help from the Humane Society of Delaware County, the Marion County Dog Warden’s Office, and the Humane Society of Morrow County.

The rescued dogs are being cared for by the Delaware County dog shelter and the county’s humane society.

Delaware County Dog Warden Mitchell Garrett said his office was aware of the property owner for several years, but previous investigations only turned up six dogs, all of whom were in good health.

“Complaints continued to come in… but, in recent years, no one would complete a witness statement that would enable the Dog Shelter staff to act,” the county’s statement said. “A statement was received Friday night, alleging many more dogs on the property than were previously known and that they had been observed in abusive conditions.”

A video posted to TikTok Saturday showed the dog’s living conditions. In the video, nearly all the dogs are shown wearing heavy chains, living in mud or water with only an uninsulated blue bucket for shelter. One of the dogs in the video appears to be biting their chain and pulling against its stake.

Online court records show the property owner was charged with animal cruelty in North Carolina in 2012.

NBC4 is not naming the property owner because criminal charges have not been filed in Delaware County.

The dog warden is continuing an investigation into the living conditions of the dogs. A briefing with Garrett is scheduled for Monday morning.

Garrett’s statement said the dogs at the shelter at the time of the seizure were being cared for by the nonprofit group Rico Pet Recovery.