COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Dogs rescued from a home in Ohio due to abusive conditions are now learning what it's like to live in a loving home.
One month ago, deputies raided the home and found 40 pit bulls after a witness reported the conditions. A video went viral of them outside, tethered to thick, heavy chains, with only the ability to walk in small circles around barrels.
Now, the dogs are slowly but surely getting healthier, adjusting to walking on a leash, being around humans, and interacting with other dogs. Some are in foster homes right now, staying with trainings, or in the shelter.
Rico Pet Recovery is helping 10 of the dogs. Six of them are currently in foster homes, and four are with trainers.
One dog, a female named Honey, is up for adoption through Rico Pet Recovery.
Honey is house-trained, great with other dogs, and does not need to be in a crate when left home alone.
Once they’re in the foster environment, then their recovery is much faster," said Marcie Dop, who is the founder and director of Rico Pet Recovery. "They’re really doing great. It’s been really rewarding to see everyone come to help us with these dogs and their journey."They’re a year or two years old, and they’ve never had some of those experiences, so it’s going to take time for them to develop new habits," said Alec Dickman, who owns Alec's Canine Academy.Dickman is training two of the dogs. Willy is more outgoing and almost ready for a foster home. Willy was the dog seen in the viral video using his head to pull the heavy chain out of muddy water. Radar is shy but slowly comes out of his shell.
Going from that environment that they were into the environment that they’re in now, when you do the picture-to-picture comparison of some of these dogs, it just brings tears to your eyes," Dop said.Dop said they've had to work with some of the dogs more than others, including Radar.
"He was like a statue the first day, and it was really sad to see him," Dickman said. "Just didn’t know how to walk on a leash. He didn’t know how to relax and go be a dog."
They said each dog has a different personality and different needs. Some of them had skin issues due to living in mud and dirt, and they are working to gain weight.
"One of the dogs we found really responds to other dogs, so we put her in a foster that has another dog, and she has really learned how to be a dog from that dog," Dop said.
Their former owner, Robert Phillips Jr., faces 30 misdemeanor charges. He did not show up to a hearing on April 17, according to Delaware County's Director of Communications. Online court records show there is a warrant pending.
The easy part was getting those dogs out of that area and then bringing them into the shelter," said Dop. "There’s many more weeks left of recovery for these dogs."Dop said more fosters are still needed, specifically those who will take the time to work with the dogs. Costs related to the dogs are covered for foster families. There's a foster application on Rico Pet Recovery's website.
She also said the nonprofit would also benefit from financial support to help cover expenses for the dogs.
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