RIPLEY, Ohio — After verifying a tip from a concerned neighbor and securing a search warrant, Brown County dog wardens walked inside a Ripley home May 1 to find a nightmare festering inside.
Eight dogs were crammed inside dirty cages filled with urine and feces. The pets had no food or water. All utilities were shut off inside the home. Garbage and clutter packed the rooms.
Some of the dogs were underweight while others were dehydrated. All of them were covered in their own filth.
"Unfortunately, it's my job to see animals in these conditions," Chief Dog Warden Melissa Downs said. "The biggest thing is we want to do what's right by the animals. Get them out of there, get the evidence, and then try and hold that person accountable."
Investigators charged the property owner, 51-year-old Delta Bealer, with eight counts of animal cruelty. Her warrants are still active, and she has yet to be arrested in this case.
But Bealer has faced a judge on similar charges in recent years. Court records show cases for animal abandonment in 2021 and another in 2024.
Downs led those investigations just as she leads this most recent one. Downs said her team should never have had to return to Bealer's home.
Watch here to see what investigators found inside the Ripley home and why the Brown County Dog Warden is blaming state law for allowing it to happen:
"Unfortunately, this is the third time with this person. The frustration is high. The frustration in the community is high," she said. "They don't understand how this could happen three times."
But it can happen, and we wanted to know why.
Downs said it comes down to current legislation. She lauded the Brown County Prosecutor's Office for pursuing animal cruelty and neglect cases and judges for punishing defendants to the highest extent that the law allows. But that justice is limited.
In animal cruelty and neglect cases, judges will commonly order that defendants not possess any animals. That order typically extends into the probation phase, but Downs said once defendants are off probation, the problems begin.
"When they're on probation and they have animals, the probation department and us can work together. We can get those animals out. It's a probation violation," she said. "Once they're off probation, there's nothing we can do. There's no way to enforce that ban. We've reached out to other prosecutors, other departments — there's nothing there."
Downs said following the closure of Bealer's previous cases, her team would see Bealer post on social media about collecting more dogs.
"Over and over and over, every free animal that was out there, her name would pop up. There was a group of us that was trying to reach out to her to try to, as much as possible, educate her. Unfortunately, we can't be everywhere," she said.
As the laws exist now, Downs said she worries Bealer will continue to hoard dogs in unlivable conditions and that her team will eventually be called out to remove them.
Bealer's case is just one of dozens of animal cruelty and neglect cases in Brown County so far this year. Downs said her team has seen an increase from past years, for reasons she said she can't fully explain.
"We're seeing a plethora of unwanted animals, we're seeing crimes go up, people collecting their animals, and people not feeding their animals," she said. "I don't know. The last few years, it's just been ramping up more and more."
Downs said she wants state lawmakers to spearhead change, starting with a dedicated task force.
"People that have their boots on the ground, that's doing this every day, that's done this for years, like myself. To be able to say and look over this law and go, 'This is great, however, here's the problem in the field,' and try and work on those so we don't get those laws that look great on paper, but we can't go anywhere with them and then we're back to this endless cycle," she said.
Though judges can order a lifetime ban on possessing animals, without laws laying out ways to enforce them, Downs said they essentially become moot points. She said she would like to see the creation of online dashboards, similar to how sex offender lists work, to help with animal enforcement.
"Some type of state, federal — some type of registry — for these that can be put in there that any law enforcement department can take a look at and see, 'Oh these people are not supposed to have animals,'" Downs said.
Four of the dogs removed from Bealer's home earlier this month are being housed at the Brown County Animal Shelter. The other four are in foster homes. Downs said their care has put a strain on the shelter.
"We are a tiny, rural shelter. Everything from financially to workforce to kennel space, I mean, it's just a domino effect," she said. "If you see something, always say something, even if it doesn't look like anything. Support your local shelters. Don't be afraid to reach out to legislators and representatives and ask those questions about laws."
