Twelve dogs are getting medical treatment after they were rescued from an abandoned home in Bartlesville this week.

Animal control officers say the dogs were alone for weeks with no food and very little water. When the dogs were first brought to Tonya Pete at the Washington County SPCA - she knew they had a long road to recovery.

“When they came in, they were cowering," she said.

"They were very scared. Some of them were crouched down to the ground. We had to physically pick them up.”

She says some were dangerously thin and had been locked inside the house to scavenge and fight over scraps for weeks.

“They had no food and water," she said. "So, at that point, you can imagine there was feces on the floor and there was quite a smell.”

Once they'd been brought to the shelter - Pete's team got to work getting them on the road to recovery - but after going so long without food - feeding has to be done carefully.

“It’s almost like an infant. You have to give them small meals several times a day to build their stomach back up," Pete said.

Pete says the good news is how they've started to recover emotionally.

“The biggest thing is, we were really, really worried about them being able to come out of their shell. They were shy, they were scared. We didn’t know how they would recover. And it’s only been a few days and they are already showing promising signs," Pete said.

Pete says every dog has recovered well - and all are looking for foster homes.

“It helps to get them acclimated. It helps to get them socialized and to see what it’s like to be in a home to get regular food," she said.