- Ohio, USA -
Following tips from concerned citizens about animal cruelty at a property on 7474 Kilbourne Road in Kingston Township, forty dogs were rescued and the owner of the property, ROBERT PHILLIPS JR., could soon be facing charges.
The Delaware County Sheriff's Office explained in a media release that “Per Ohio law, the County Dog Warden and the Humane Society have primary authority regarding animals.”
On Sunday, April 7, 2024, Delaware County Dog Warden Mitchell Garrett obtained a warrant from Delaware Municipal Court Judge Kyle Rohrer to enter the property. The owner of the property, PHILLIPS, was not present during the raid, so no charges have been issued at this point, but are anticipated.
According to the multiple comments I have read on the Facebook page of the sheriff's office and the county dog shelter, authorities have known for four years about the conditions of the dogs and nothing was done before the Sunday’s raid.
Garrett said: “Mr. Phillips has been known to us for several years” but previous visits had found only six dogs, all in good health. Garrett also said that although complaints kept coming in, in recent years, no one would complete a witness statement that would enable the Dog Shelter staff to act.
According to Garrett, a “statement was received Friday night, alleging many more dogs on the property than were previously known and that they had been observed in abusive conditions.”
With the statement and the warrant, officials were able to enter the property, rescue the dogs, and also initiate a site investigation of the conditions.
Garrett said the raid took about three hours and was conducted with the help of personnel from the Humane Society of Delaware County, the Marion County Dog Warden’s Office, the Morrow County Humane Agent, and the nonprofit group Rico Pet Recovery.
The rescued dogs, most believed to be Pitbulls or Pitbull mixes, are being cared for at the Delaware County Dog Shelter and the Humane Society of Delaware County facility.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that “The Ohio Department of Agriculture maintains a database of high-volume dog breeders”. PHILLIPS, and the address of the home from which the dogs were rescued, are “listed in the state's database.”
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