DECATUR, Ill (WCIA) — The Macon County Sheriff’s Office has provided an update this morning on the recovery of four dogs that were rescued last week.

Officials said the dogs have passed all their veterinary check-ups and are well on their way to making a full recovery with the Macon County Animal Control.

The sheriff’s office also said that they have had many inquiries into whether the dogs will be adoptable, however Sergeant Scott Flannery said they don’t have an answer quite yet. He said that the dog’s owners do have legal rights to the dogs. If the owners are found not guilty at their court date in March, the dogs may be returned to them.

The Macon County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about animals being left outside in the cold without shelter this weekend, the reported temperature at the time was one degree with a wind chill of -16.

Flannery said the 11-year-old bulldog named Blue was “in dire straights”. Unfortunately, by the time Blue made it to the University of Illinois Veterinary Clinic in Urbana, there was nothing more they could do to save him. Deputies found the four other dogs on the property in “rough shape” – with frozen water, no food, and only plywood dog houses with a bit of straw for shelter.

The sheriff’s office said 42-year-old Mark Miller, Jr., and 39-year-old Nyssa Richards were both charged with animal cruelty and neglect. The Sheriff’s Office said animal cruelty and neglect is a Class A misdemeanor in the State of Illinois, and aggravating factors could result in a Class 4 felony.