Observers wonder why law enforcement took so long to bring charges against notorious “rescue angels”
EPHRATA, Washington; VICTORVILLE, California; WEST ISLIP, New York––Dean Marie Solomon Brock, 65, was on August 25, 2025 ordered by the Grant County, Washington district court to have no animals in her care as a condition of her release from jail pending her next scheduled court appearance on September 22, 2025.
What observers in the animal rescue community nationwide are wondering is what took so long for a “no animals” order to be in place, in view that Dean Solomon Brock, under her known names and as many as 20 alleged aliases, including her business name Used Dogs, has been accused of animal hoarding and animal-related scams at least since 2006, including multiple alleged scams of law enforcement.
Along the way, Dean Solomon Brock has made herself prominent in opposition to breed-specific dog legislation.
Three of a kind
Two other individuals, Dianne Bedford of Woofy Acres in San Bernardino County, California, and Diane Indelicato, of Ruff House Rescue on Long Island, New York, are reportedly also now facing trial on similar sets of charges, after compiling similar histories, of comparable length, having in common their advocacy of dangerous dogs, and histories of raising funds by rehoming or purporting to rehome them.
Dean Solomon Brock, summarizes Scam Rescues; Animal Advocacy Community Forum administrator Jo Anne Uhler on Facebook, “was convicted of animal cruelty in 2008 in Kent, Washington. She was starving horses and dogs to death. She was also soliciting nonprofit rescues to scam from them and tried to use their nonprofit [status] for GoFundMe campaigns and various other scams.”
Pacific Equestrian Center
Dean Solomon Brock at that time operated what she called the Pacific Equestrian Center in Auburn, Washington. She claimed to have rescued more than 1,000 horses over the preceding two decades.
But Linda Byron of the Seattle television news station King 5 on April 29, 2008 broadcast clips from “disturbing video and photographs taken by concerned volunteers and people who boarded horses at her rescue.
“Video taken by a volunteer in 2007 shows horses at Solomon Brock ’s rescue with patchy skin and coats heavily crusted with mud and manure,” Byron recounted.
In February 2008, Byron continued, “Solomon was ordered to reduce her herd. She turned horses over to a Maple Valley rescue. One horse named Ginger––who had been in her care for more than a year––could barely walk.
“Starving, had lice, had rain rot”
“She was starving, had lice, and had rain rot,” veterinarian Hannah Evergreen told Byron.
“Evergreen was called in to evaluate the horses at Pacific Equestrian Center by King County Animal Control. Three had to be put down,” Byron narrated.
“It’s not surprising to find sick and injured horses at a rescue,” Byron acknowledged. “But they’re supposed to get better. And sources say that’s not what happened at Pacific Equestrian.
“People complained to animal control about as many as 80 horses crowded into pastures and stalls choked with manure.”
School teacher Kristi Margeson testified to Byron that she had witnessed the negligent conditions at Pacific Equestrian, as a volunteer, as early as 2006.
Monitored for two years before charges
“For two years King County Animal Control monitored Solomon, warning her to make improvements,” Byron narrated.
Solomon Brock contended that the horses at Pacific Equestrian were only in bad shape because “We take the worst of the worst cases––we take horses that other rescues have turned down.”
Eventually, though, Solomon Brock “pleaded guilty in King County to four counts of second-degree animal cruelty after authorities discovered eight severely malnourished horses in her care; two had to be euthanized,” according to Source One News in Wenatchee, Washington.
That was only the first time Solomon Brock allegedly neglected animals.
“Pattern of death & destruction”
Jo Anne Uhler of Scam Rescues; Animal Advocacy Community Forum posted “photos of Dean Brock’s home from 2013, when she was evicted from her rental property. Here we are, 12 years later,” Uhler fumed, “and her pattern of death and destruction continues.”
Said Source One News, “According to an extensive investigative report by the Royal City Police Department, officers had received repeated complaints about conditions at her property, citing foul odors, unsanitary living environments, aggressive dogs, and past incidents of alleged fraud connected to animal rescue claims,” beginning in 2022, when the prior owner of Brock Solomon’s Used Dogs rescue, her half-brother Danny Cobler, “was found dead of natural causes inside the trailer that still stands on the lot.
(Royal City police department photo)
Lived in prefab shed
“After his death,” Source One News said, “Brock and her husband began occupying the property without clear legal ownership. Police reports describe Brock as living in a small prefabricated shed rather than the trailer, surrounded by a growing number of dogs tethered to fences, trees, or vehicles.
“Neighbors and officers reported overwhelming odors of feces and urine,” Source One News recounted. “At times, officers said they observed Brock defecating in her yard. Royal City’s Public Works Director, Mauricio Romero, confirmed she was not using the sewer system.”
“Complaints escalated in 2024,” Source One News continued, “when one of her dogs, a Belgian Malinois named Glock, killed a neighbor’s chicken. Another incident involved a dog biting a teenage passerby, though the injury did not break the skin.
“Police also documented allegations of fraudulent activity,” Source One News said.
For instance, “In March 2025, Brock allegedly misrepresented herself as a dog trainer to solicit donations from a Kent farm supply store, Reber Ranch, which gave her kennels, food, and other supplies. Surveillance video later confirmed she collected the donations personally after claiming to be someone else.”
(Royal City police department photo)
Victim declined to press charges
In addition, Source One News mentioned that “One donor,” a Mrs. Hilsen, “gave Brock her Malinois named Xena along with $1,100 for supposed veterinary costs. Pioneer Veterinary Clinic later confirmed Brock never brought the dog in for treatment beyond a $100 deposit. Hilsen ultimately declined to pursue charges.”
Finally, Royal City police officers “noted dogs with no food or water, one dead dog left unburied in a kennel for days, and another lying lifeless next to an empty bucket.”
An initial raid by Royal City police, Grant County Sheriff’s deputies, Wenatchee Valley Humane Society staff, and city officials on June 24, 2025 impounded twelve live dogs and the carcass of another. along with one carcass in an advanced state of decay.
A second raid, on July 7, 2025, according to Jo Anne Uhler of Scam Rescues; Animal Advocacy Community Forum, found “20+ Malinois and German shepherds, former K9 police dogs and puppies,” whom Brock Solomon claimed to be “training,” acquired from various police departments and the New York City Department of Corrections.
Aggressive Malinois were shot
“Four Malinois were deemed aggressive and shot immediately,” Uhler posted.
Another source, Lori Davidson, told ANIMALS 24-7 on September 1, 2025 that two of the dogs were shot on March 10, 2025, and two more on June 24, 2025.
“These dogs were failed,” Uhler declared, “not only because the police departments who blindly handed over their dogs to a prolific animal abuser in Washington state failed to do a simple background check, but by the court system who allowed her to continue to con, defraud, and commit animal cruelty and neglect for years with zero accountability.
“Throughout the investigation,” Source One News noted, “Brock maintained that her dogs were therapy animals, or that she was operating a nonprofit, exempting her from local ordinances. Royal City’s municipal code, however, prohibits more than three pets per household and forbids kennels within city limits.
“All surviving dogs are now in the custody of veterinary clinics or shelters, undergoing evaluation. Some may be eligible for adoption once their medical and behavioral conditions are assessed,” Source One News finished.
Dianne Bedford hit with 37 counts a year after raid
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office on July 11, 2025 charged Dianne Bedford, 63, with seven felony count and nine misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, plus twenty-one counts of failure to care for an animal.
The charges came almost a year after 114 dogs were confiscated from the Woofy Acres premises in Pinon Hills, of whom, “93 were euthanized immediately due to the extent of their physical and behavioral deterioration. Four more died shortly after. Only 17 survived,” reported VVNG, the Victor Valley News Group.
Bedford’s LinkedIn page describes her as a “Family nurse practitioner with strong background in aesthetics, plastic surgery, and management of surgical centers,” whose “current practice includes aesthetic and medical dermatology, anti-aging and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, vitamin and mineral infusion therapy, treatment of hair loss, surgical assist, sclerotherapy and injectables.”
Posted $250,000 bail
Woofy Acres filings of IRS Form 990 show annual income ranging from $478,243 in 2022 to $55,946 in 2024, for total income, 2020-2024, of $1,069,145.
Scheduled for arraignment on September 23, 2025, Bedford posted bail of $250,000.
Months before the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office became involved, the Orange County Register reported that “32 dogs — fifteen of them from Orange County Animal Care—were abandoned by Woofy Acres animal rescue” at Shanderin Kennels in Rowland Heights.
Shanderin Kennels veterinary technician Samantha Redline told the Orange County Register that “The kennel has been unable to reach Woofy Acres president Dianne Bedford for months.”
Bedford owed Shanderin Kennels $40,000, the Orange County Register said.
Orange County Animal Care
Local activist Michael Mavrovouniotis, a retired data scientist who has made a retirement project of monitoring Orange County Animal Care, told the Orange County Register that the Orange County shelter had released 128 dogs to Woofy Acres since 2019, according to county records.
“The Orange County shelter just takes the view that we don’t care who takes the animals as long as we get them off our books,” Mavrovouniotis charged.
Orange County Animal Care spokesperson Alexa Pratt responded that, “Woofy Acres is not legally required to update Orange County Animal Care on what it does with rescue dogs.”
“Specialized in drama dogs”
Woofy Acres had already been spotlighted several times by the Reddit group r/PetRescueExposed, including “for their curious behavior of pulling a LOT of very aggressive shelter dogs, many of whom seemingly never got rehomed.
“Woofy Acres specialized in pulling drama dogs––biters, big aggression, big fear, non-adoptable dogs. Then put them in a kennel for two years.
“But sure, they’re great, non-reactive, trained dogs,” r/PetRescueExposed said, going on to note how rescuers of the purportedly rescued-by-Woofy Acres dogs have chosen to “not name Woofy Acres.
“That sort of one-hand-washing-the-other nonsense is why we keep seeing these things happen,” r/PetRescueExposed suggested.
Indelicato paid herself more than the rescue made
Diane Indelicato, 56, who founded Ruff House Rescue in 2010, paid herself $114,000 in 2023, according to the most recent available IRS Form 990.
That was nearly $30,000 more than Ruff House Rescue took in.
Ruff House Rescue annual income exceeded $1.1 million every year from 2018 through 2020, but plummeted to $84,767 in 2023.
Indelicato and Ruff House Rescue previously came to ANIMALS 24-7 notice in 2015 for having been sued at least twice, beginning in 2011, for allegedly rehoming pit bulls who went on to injure people.
(See Shelter sued for rehoming pit bull who attacked woman.)
Inspector Bark on her case
Indelicato was sued again, in a similar case, in February 2019.
Subsequent to those cases, the outcomes of which have not been reported, Indelicato and Ruff House Rescue came under frequent criticism from Georgia private investigator Darcy Butkus, better known for her Inspector Bark podcasts about dog rescue issues.
Then an online “Ruff House Rescue Accountability Project” emerged.
On March 17, 2025, Indelicato was charged in Suffolk County, New York, with neglect of a pit bull named Tali.
“At least four volunteers at Ruff House Rescue continuously urged director and president Diane Indelicato that Tali needed immediate veterinary attention, according to charging documents filed by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office,” reported Grace Mercurio for the Suffolk County News.
“Days later, on November 6, 2024, Tali was found dead in her kennel.
Additional legal trouble
Detailed Mercurio, “Tali suffered from multiple large, ulcerated masses on her abdomen that were actively leaking blood and pus; severe and apparent dermatological distress; obviously swollen limbs; noticeable respiratory distress; lethargy; and general physical deterioration.”
Indelicato “pleaded not guilty,” Mercurio wrote, “and was released on her own recognizance.
“According to those who have associated with Indelicato and Ruff House Rescue,” Mercurio continued, “Tali’s death is not an isolated case; it reflects a long-standing pattern of neglect.
“Indelicato is facing additional legal trouble. A holdover eviction has been filed by landlord Roxy Girl Holding against Ruff House Rescue Inc., filed April 8, 2025, three weeks after the arrest of Indelicato.”
(Daniel Leventhal photo)
According to the Ruff House Rescue Accountability Project, via Facebook, “Ruff House Rescue has agreed to a court-approved settlement in the eviction case against them. A warrant of eviction has been issued, but is stayed until December 31, 2025. They must vacate the premises by then, stop using the second floor by September 30, and pay $10,000 in legal fees.
“If they fail to comply, eviction can happen sooner.”
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I lived in Pinon Hills, which at the time was a beautiful community but which has since grown, according to a former neighbor, so as to be unrecognizable. It, and most other desert communities, have also always been refuges for those advocating anarchy, “rugged individualism,” and of course, the rights, if not the basic care, of generationally purpose-bred killer dogs over those of everyone else.
Sad.
Sharing with gratitude, and so much more.
The dogs that were seized from the property Dean Solomon was squatting on have been shot or euthanized. Five made it out alive. We need to start asking why Royal City PD did nothing for two years prior to the eventual seizure on June 24, 2025.
They also kept the dogs in their possession for 6 weeks and dogs were starved in the process. One of the surviving 5 lost 27 lbs in 6 weeks.
First off, thank you for publishing this article: So many people failed these dogs and it needs to be known far and wide
I’m writing to clarify several inaccuracies in recent media coverage regarding Dean Solomon Brock and the events surrounding her case. These corrections are essential to ensure accurate public understanding and accountability for the animals involved.
Key Corrections:
– Xena and Hunter were shot by Officer Bronn on March 10, 2025, while at large near a school just minutes before dismissal. The dogs were running away from both the officer and the school grounds. Officer Bronn claimed they were aggressive, but they were still puppies and no evidence has been presented to support that claim.
– On June 24, 2025, while in police custody at the water treatment plant, Officer Bronn shot:
– Oscar, who was pinned between two kennels and barking with raised hackles. But not being aggressive towards the officer
– Aras, who was shot after approaching the officer’s vehicle. No explanation other than that was given. He then dragged her body to another location to take a picture. Absolutely no blood was found on, around or in the drag marks of Aras. That raises questions of if she was really shot.
All dogs were seized that same day.
– Dean Solomon Brock was arrested on July 7, 2025, but contrary to reports, no additional 20 dogs were seized at that time.
– Dean did not move to the property with a husband—she moved alone with her dogs. Her half-brother, Danny Cobler, had no involvement with Used Dogs Rescue. After his death, Dean occupied the property illegally.
– Dean claimed Bert was a service animal. It’s unclear whether she still has him, as Grant County has not followed up to ensure compliance with the court order.
– There was only one raid, and only five dogs survived:
– Timothy and Murphy were transferred to Wenatchee Valley Humane Society.
– Diablo was owned by a private party and his owner secured him. She also secured Mir with a private party.
There are additional discrepancies I’m not at liberty to discuss publicly, but I urge you to revisit the facts and update your reporting accordingly. These animals deserve truth, accountability, and dignity in how their stories are told.
The best person to contact regarding this information is Anne Davidson-Spratt. I did discuss this email with her and verified that what I have stated is factual based on police reports.
I’m also involved as she violated her conditions of release by picking up my dog and transporting him across state lines on 7/22/25. I was unaware of any of these happenings until August 5th. I promptly called the district attorney’s office and advise them and I thought a warrant would be issued for her arrest considering she violated the conditions of her release but one was not. I was able to get my dog back on August 13th.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Thank you, Lori, for adding detail to the ANIMALS 24-7 account. Several of these “key corrections,” however, are disputed by others with direct knowledge of the case, including the circumstances under which Royal City police officer Josh Bronn shot the four Malinois who were killed. Also to be noted is that Dean Solomon Brock has reportedly had multiple husbands, of whom only the first, divorced from her for more than 50 years, is accounted for to the best of our knowledge. To what extent, and when, any of the others may have been involved in her business Used Dogs remains unclear.