Jolene was fighting for her life when rescuers found her. The dog was so sick that she went straight from a rural property in Chester County, Tennessee, to an emergency animal hospital, where she needed a blood transfusion. Vets are now treating her for heartworm disease, anemia, a tick-borne illness called ehrlichiosis, intestinal parasites and a severe flea infestation.

Jolene was not alone. On Sept. 26, local law enforcement asked the nonprofit Animal Rescue Corps (ARC) to help with a cruelty investigation at the property. Together they removed 24 animals: 12 dogs, 10 cats and kittens, a rabbit and a goat. According to ARC, many of them were starving, tied up on chains or stuck in cramped, filthy pens. Investigators also found the remains of multiple animals that did not survive.

The survivors are finally getting medical care, though some face a long recovery before they can move on to shelters and rescue groups. "She's been through so much, but she's fighting hard," Tim Woodward, ARC's executive director, said of Jolene.

The investigation is still open, and no charges have been announced. When it wraps up, these animals deserve a case that reflects everything that happened to them, not a quiet plea deal or a slap on the wrist.

District Attorney General Jody Pickens of Tennessee's 26th Judicial District has the power to decide what charges are filed. He should pursue the strongest animal cruelty charges the evidence supports, for each animal harmed, and ask the court to bar anyone convicted from owning or caring for animals again. That is how to make sure no other animal ends up chained and starving on that land.

Sign the petition to demand full justice for Jolene and the other survivors while the case is still being built.