RIPLEY, Ohio (WKRC) — Inside a Ripley home, what Brown County humane agents discovered was horrific.
They found dogs in small crates covered in urine and feces. Some of the animals were crammed into cages with several others. The conditions were not only filthy, but Chief Dog Warden Melissa Downs said that there was also no electricity or running water in the home. Additionally, the dogs didn’t have food or water.
“It appears from looking at the crates that the dogs had been living in those crates for a while,” said Downs.
This was the agents’ third time taking animals from the home.
“The other two cases were abandonment cases,” Downs said.
The last time they were there, they seized 11 dogs from the property. The dogs are now safe at the shelter and in foster homes, but cases like this strain the resources of the small, rural shelter, which is left to pick up the pieces of what agents say is a “broken system.”
“[The owner] was court-ordered not to own animals. Once she was off probation, there was no longer a way to enforce that, so she started collecting animals again,” Downs said.
The dog warden told Local 12 that they receive tremendous help from Brown County’s prosecutor, as well as the judges who work to hold people accountable, but it’s the laws in Ohio that make the situation frustrating.
“We are blessed in Brown County that we have wonderful prosecutors and judges who take animal crimes seriously,” Downs said.
However, Downs said that there’s a disconnect between what’s written on paper and what the shelters really need to prevent repeated cases like this.
“[Legislators are] making laws, they’re passing laws, they’re writing laws, but it feels like they’re not getting the input from the people who are out here every day with their boots on the ground, trying to enforce these laws,” said Downs.
The warden said that the staff has done what they can to try to reach legislators. Local 12 is waiting to hear back from western Brown County’s representative.
Meanwhile, the dogs’ owner, Delta Bealer, is facing several charges for neglecting the animals.
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