The number of reported cases of animal cruelty in El Paso County is going up.

One resident could face charges after authorities say they found more than 10 dead animals on a Black Forest property. The Sheriff’s office is asking for volunteers who not only can report a possible problem, but help solve it as well.

12760 Vollmer is roadside property offering passers-by a front row seat of whatever's out in the open.

"You can see it right from the street. The cows, they've got blood comin' down their ears and what not,” said Black Forest resident Tyson Henry. The property, he says, often ended up a home for sick and injured animals.

But good care, he says, was at times more than what those who live here could provide.

"Some people have a bigger heart than a pocket," he said.

On Tuesday, authorities pulled more than 20 animals in bad shape from the property, including some cows and horses.

"There's no excuse for an extended period of time it would take to get a horse to the conditions we're seeing," said El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Bureau Chief Joe Breister.

Whether it turns out to be nothing, intentional neglect, or a case of residents over extending their means, Breister says more of these reports are coming in as more people move into rural parts of the county and see what they perceive to be neglect.

But Breister says the county can't afford to care for all the animals they recover: they need some help forming what they call an Animal Aid List.

"It would really be on the goodwill of volunteers who'd be willing to take the animals in and assist us," Breister said.

And as the reports of neglect increase, the Sheriff's Office will consider all offers of assistance.

Investigators will present the Vollmer road case to the district attorney’s office Friday morning.

If you can offer help for the Animal Aid List, they ask volunteers to call 520-7244