WILSON COUNTY, N.C. — Wilson County authorities rescued 13 starving pit bull terriers that may have been used for fighting.

Police and animal control found the dogs chained up around an abandoned farmhouse on Tuesday.

"These dogs would have been dead within a few days if we had not rescued them," animal control officer Larraine Mandeville said.

Officials also discovered five dead dogs in a freshly dug grave near the farmhouse. Officials believed those dogs may have been killed Saturday in a dogfight.

Several of the dogs had bite marks, scars and one even had a broken leg. Authorities also found dogfighting paraphernalia in the farmhouse.

Paul Dupree, 40, and 23-year-old Clifton Ellis Jr. were each charged with two counts of felony cruelty to animals.