Wagoner County Sheriff's Office says a man left his two dogs in his backyard for months without food, water, or shelter.

It came to a tipping point in freezing temperatures while their owner left the state. The dogs were rescued last week.

The Sheriff's office says the dog's owner could face two counts of animal cruelty.

Deputy William Sieg says two good Samaritans were leaving food and hay for the dogs.

He said one dog has a dislocated hip and needs surgery, and the other has injuries to its face and jaw.

The Wagoner County Sheriff's office says when they saw, they knew they had to act fast.

"I knew that we couldn't just leave for the day and come back tomorrow,” William Sieg, Patrol Deputy, said. “I knew we had to act and get something done in that moment.”

The Sheriff's office got a search warrant and rescued the dogs, but they say it took two days to reach the owner to get permission to get the dogs into new homes.

"Without the relinquishment of the ownership, we have to wait a period of ten days in order for care and relocation of those animals and possibly euthanasia," said Sieg.

Sieg says if it hadn't been for concerned neighbors feeding the dogs for the past two months, the dogs might've died.

"They would have been hit by a car, possibly shot out in the county, or just succumbed to the weather,” said Sieg. “It’s been really cold without food and water and shelter. These animals, they survive for a while, but they're not invincible.”

Deputy Sieg says the Sheriff's office will do their best to protect animals in need.

"If an animal’s been injured, if it’s been shot, poisoned, anything like that, we’ll work hard to determine where those injuries came from, who did it, and we will try to follow through with criminal charges on those individuals," he said.

The two dogs are now with the Oklahoma Animal Alliance getting care, and they will go up for adoption.

We talked to their owner, who says his dad had a stroke before Thanksgiving, and he had to leave to take care of him.