It's been just over two weeks since Utica Police found eight pit bulls either starving to death or dead in a Utica home. After a tough couple of weeks for the two that survived, one of them is now up for adoption. Our Andrew Sorensen went to visit the dogs and check on their recovery.

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UTICA, N.Y.--When Utica Police found eight starving pit bulls in a home on Whitesboro Street, the outlook wasn't good for any of them.

"Some of those dogs were actually found dead inside the apartment, and the rest were clinging to life and some didn't make it," Stevens-Swan PR Director Jerry Kraus said Wednesday.

The dogs were eating scraps of leather from shoes to survive. Most of them died, but two of the dogs beat the odds.

"We have them both here at the Stevens-Swan Humane Society, including little Vanessa right here, who is about five weeks old right now," Kraus said, which makes her a little too young for adoption, but she is their new favorite desk clerk.

"She's loving all the attention that the staff is giving her," he said. "We're making sure that she's got somebody close by all day, and at night, our employees are taking her home."

But they say the other dog, Macho is ready for adoption.

He has made significant recovery in his two short weeks.

"All of the dogs were infested with fleas. Macho had mouth infections and he was malnourished. He's come back to gain about eight pounds already in the last two weeks."

Stevens-Swan says Macho is perfect for a home without any other pets or small children.

"He's got a lot of playful energy, and we wouldn't want him to run up to a smaller child and to rough-house with them and knock them down," Kraus explained.

The humane society wants to see both Vanessa and Macho go to loving homes where they can move on, and just be dogs again.

The dog's original owner, Umar Aziz, 22, faces multiple counts of animal cruelty. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.