40 dogs in Delaware County deemed abandoned, opening path to adoption

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DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) – A judge deemed 40 dogs found in heavy chains and swampy conditions were “abandoned” after their owner failed to appear in court and assigned custody to the county dog warden on Wednesday.

Now that the Delaware County Dog Warden has custody of the dogs, formal medical care can begin. The Delaware County Humane Society has been caring for 20 of the dogs and is now awaiting documentation from the dog warden to grant them custody. All the dogs need spayed and neutered, with some needing dental work. This medical work will begin tomorrow, according to the humane society.

Once their medical care is addressed, the shelter will focus on the dogs' behavioral needs, which they said varies from dog to dog. After that, the DCHS said they will look for foster homes for some dogs, while others may be ready for adoption. The shelter stressed that the process is going to take time. 

The county dog warden is currently housing the rest of the dogs. Rico Pet Recovery will be assisting with placing those dogs into foster homes –  founder Marci Dop said there is a “line of people” ready to take the dogs into foster care. 

In early April, the dogs were removed from a Delaware County property on the 7000 block of Kilbourne Road after a video showing their living conditions went viral. In the video, the dogs are shown living in waterlogged patches of mud with only an uninsulated blue barrel for shelter. 

After four years of being on the county shelter’s “radar,” the owner of the 40 dogs is now facing misdemeanor charges, including 26 counts of cruelty to a companion animal and four counts of failure to register a dog or dog kennel. The animal cruelty charges were filed due to multiple dogs having abrasions, sores or scarring where their collars were, with one dog needing its collar cut off. Some charges also claim the owner was housing dogs with others that were hurting them, as well as not providing adequate shelter.