SUMMERDALE - Owners of the Purple Hearted Puppies Animal Rescue are facing possible felony charges after area shelters rescued hundreds of dogs from the abandoned facility in Summerdale, police said Wednesday.

"It's a heinous case," Summerdale police investigator Trent Dennis said. "Basically, these people were trying to do something for the dogs and cats they took in, but it got out of hand. They got overwhelmed when it got too big for them, so they just abandoned them."

The Summerdale Police Department recently completed paperwork to transfer the case to the Baldwin County District Attorney's office. Facility owner Roberta Dueitt and her daughter, Sharon, were arrested for misdemeanor animal cruelty charges last week.

Investigators are requesting the District Attorney's office upgrade several of the charges to felonies, according to investigators.

Both women will face over 100 misdemeanors and 20 possible felonies, Dennis said. Intentional torture must be present for a charge of animal cruelty to qualify as a felony, according to state law.

Each misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. If charged as a felony, each count can carry a $5,000 fine and 10-year imprisonment.

While Dueitt and her daughter stare down the possibility of jail time, the animals held prisoner at the neglected facility are now in the care of several clinics and foster homes across the county. The Baldwin County Humane Society is coordinating the rescue effort.

"We are waiting for permanent legal custody of the survivors from Purple Hearted Puppies' Summerdale shelter and Robertsdale residence," BARC! adoption coordinator Deneen Balistere said. "All will be fully vetted before we can begin adopting them out. We are asking for the community's patience."

None of the animals rescued from the Dueitts' home and boarding facility will be at the rescue agency's adoption event at the Eastern Shore PetSmart Feb. 4, according to BARC!,"

"BARC! already had 23 dogs and 58 cats in need of their livelong, loving family before this mass rescue," agency officials wrote in a release. Several volunteers helped the agency over the weekend to process 46 foster applications, 36 dog adoptions, and answer hundreds of phone calls, according to BARC!.

"People care," BARC! Board President Christine Sherwin said. "People from Washington state to Washington DC are supporting us in our animal advocacy efforts. We even had a lady from London to offer help."

BARC! is handling the medical costs and cataloguing of all the animals rescued last week.

Of the 200 animals found at the Summerdale facility, 20 dogs and two cats were found dead. Two horses had to be put down due to neglect, police said.

At Sharon Dueitt's Robertsdale residence on Adams Acres Road, police found 27 animals, including dogs, cats and goats Friday morning. Three dead kittens were found on the property. Roberta Dueitt has not been charged in Robertsdale, according to police.