RICHMOND -- It appears the dogs seized during the Michael Vick dogfighting investigation will be spared, at least for a while.

Federal Judge Henry E. Hudson approved an order Thursday afternoon ordering the U.S. Marshals Service to take custody of the 49 dogs.

The judge's order directs the Marshals Service to use "whatever means appropriate to protect and maintain" the dogs.

The court document details where the dogs are being kept.

Nineteen are at a facility in Sussex County, Va., 11 in Hanover County, 10 in Cheasapeake, five in Suffolk, three in Virginia Beach and one in Hopewell.

There's no word yet on what the Marshals Service plans to do with the dogs.