CHANDLER, Okla. (KFOR) – A man is recovering at a hospital in Oklahoma City after he was mauled by a pack of wild dogs on Wednesday.

“The worst thing I’ve ever seen,” said Lincoln County Sheriff Charlie Dougherty. “As far as a dog injury.”

A morning walk along a rural stretch of road in Chandler took a terrifying turn. A pack of wild dogs attacked a 65-year-old man along E 890 and S 3390.

“The dogs come out and get him down and go mauling him,” said Dougherty. “Looks like he’d been out there quite a while. Had all his clothes ripped off.”

The recently retired man wasn’t found on the country road for hours with his open wounds exposed, until a passerby called 911 and said they found a body. Thankfully, the man was still alive and flown to OU Health in Oklahoma City to undergo surgery.

“He received injuries pretty much all over his body, with the exception of maybe his neck,” said the sheriff.

Dougherty said the pack of wild canines came from a marijuana grow sandwiching the street. Early in March, deputies and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics busted the grow for selling bud on the “black market” and out of state. The operation had been licensed with the state.

“I don’t know if these dogs was supposed to protect the grow or if they’re just mean dogs all together,” said Dougherty.

Two of the dogs are now in custody at a local veterinary clinic. So far, it’s unclear if they’ll be put down.

“The investigators will be looking at trying to bring charges against somebody for some type of restitution for medical and different ones,” said the sheriff. “If you’re going to own dogs you got to take care of them. You got to be responsible.”

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has been getting calls about more wild dogs in the area. If you know where they are, give the sheriff’s office a call so deputies can capture them.