Three dogs that may have been involved in an animal attack at a local farm will be sent out of state for adoption, according to Aiken County officials.

The dogs – three pit bull mixes – were surrendered by their owners earlier this month during a court hearing following an attack at a Vintage Vale Road residence.

During the attack, two ponies, a goat and possibly a cat were killed at Wayne and Brenda Baughman's home. The Baughmans found the two ponies and goat mauled to death in the pasture beside their house the morning of Feb. 22.

No one witnessed the attack, but the Baughmans saw three neighborhood dogs with blood-matted fur on their property. The Baughmans and some of their Vintage Vale Road neighbors, including Ruth Seigler, claim the dogs have behaved aggressively toward people and their pets before.

The dogs were temporarily confiscated by Animal Control, which later informed the Baughmans DNA testing to determine whether the blood on the dogs belonged to their animals was too expensive to perform.

Animal attack leaves goat and two ponies dead at Aiken Farm The Baughmans' two ponies, Princess and Patches, and goat, Lucy, had been mauled to death. Their cat, Odie, has also been missing since the at…

The Baughmans were scheduled to attend a court hearing regarding the deaths of their animals, but that hearing has since been cancelled.

The dogs were surrendered by their owners in a separate hearing. The owners will go to court for additional charges March 25.

Aiken County Administrator Clay Killian said Monday the dogs were being held by the county, but will not go to the adoption floor at the Aiken County Animal Shelter.

He said the dogs have been in "play groups" with other dogs and have been "calm on walks" with staff. If they continue to behave non-aggressively, they will be transported out of state to no-kill partners and adopted into separate homes.

"They have been separated," Killian said. "…They are not going to be together or adopted into the same home again."

Killian said a "history" of the dog's possible involvement in the animal attack would be included in their adoption information.

"Even if the blood tested positive (for the DNA), we wouldn't be able to prove they actually killed the animals without a witness," Killian said. "But we will be including a history, and they will remain separated."

Siegler, the Baughmans and their daughter, Christy Lynn, have been critical of Aiken County Animal Control following the incident. They believe the dogs are responsible for the attack and that Animal Control did not take appropriate actions when prior complaints were made about the dogs.

"I was absolutely blown away by the number of people who contacted me in regards to Animal Control and things not being done," Lynn said. "…I'm working on a system right now where the citizens of Aiken can work together since Animal Control isn't taking any initiative to warn people when things like this happen."

Lynn said she is in the process of creating a public Facebook page, Aiken County Animal Nuisance Concerns, and an app that would allow residents of Aiken County to post when they have run-ins with aggressive animals that are loose so they can warn their neighbors when one is spotted in the area.