MCDONALD, Tenn. (AP) — Nearly 250 dogs have been removed from a home in southern Tennessee where officials described the conditions as "wretched."

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports Bradley County sheriff's deputies called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Bradley County on Wednesday to help seize the animals because there were so many.

Deputies who answered a call at the home about a verbal domestic situation discovered the animals.

Bobbi Anderson, director of the Bradley County SPCA shelter, said the owner surrendered most of the animals to the organization.

SPCA volunteer Ashley Crittenden told WRCB-TV that there were 237 dogs in an outbuilding and 12 in the house.

Bob Gault, spokesman for the Bradley County Sheriff's Office, says no charges have been filed, but the investigation continues.