Created: Wednesday, 21 Feb 2007, 5:53 PM EST

By JEFF VARNER
FOX8 News

SUMMERFIELD (WGHP)  --  A canine rescue group in Summerfield, N.C., is awaiting its day in court after it helped rescue about 50 sick and abused pugs from horrible living conditions.

The dogs were found at a puppy mill in Wilson, N.C., in January and brought to Pug Rescue of North Carolina a few weeks later.

The abuses the dogs suffered are obvious. Some were hit in the mouth with blunt-force trauma. Others had displaced hips and missing eyeballs.

Christina Hedrick, who runs the rescue group, has stacks of affidavits from veterinarians that detail the dogs' ailments.

Darryl Newsome was charged with one felony and four misdemeanors for the abuse.

"He was running a big breeding facility down there," said Hedrick. "They were running around in urine and feces-type areas ... and many were kept outside."

The vet bills for the rescued dogs have been enormous. "Just in vet bills and medicals, [we're] probably hitting $15,000 and we haven't gotten halfway through," said Hedrick.

On Friday, she'll file a civil lawsuit against Newsome to pay for the problems he caused and to get ownership of the dogs.

"If I could go down there myself and get away with it, I'd ... let him know what it's like to get his teeth knocked out, and roll him around in his feces and stuff for a little while," said Hedrick.

"If it costs everything I've got, as long as I've got a breath in me, he ain't getting these dogs back.

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