ASHLAND, Ohio — Ashland County Commissioners have updated the euthanasia policy at Ashland County Dog Shelter, causing many volunteers and staff members to worry.
According to a new policy from the Ashland County Commissioners, "Dogs that have been at the shelter for more than one year will be euthanized." The new policy goes into effect on Tuesday.
However, on Monday, 3News spoke with Denny Bittle, Board President of the Ashland County Commissioners. He claims a misunderstanding has occurred in interpreting this policy, and he did not think people would take the wording of the policy literally.
"People took that terminology as that we were going to euthanize every dog that was in our kennel longer than a year. That is not the facts, that is not the truth," Bittle said. "It would give us the ability to euthanize dogs if we needed to for the safety of the community, and that’s what really was the intent, not to euthanize every dog that was not adopted within a year."
Bittle says dogs will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, adding he would be the first to admit that the terminology "may have been different than our intention."
"There are circumstances that really do require us to euthanize a dog for the safety of our staff members and the community, and some of those dogs really aren’t safely adoptable," he explained. "Not very many, but it does happen."
Bittle emphasizes that while the policy is set to go into effect Tuesday, there are no scheduled euthanasians based on this new policy. Shelter volunteer Jessi Farley says she understands why the county needs policy on euthanasia, but wants to see changes to it.
"I get that they're a county; they have to have a policy on euthanasia," Farley told us. "We're not against having policy for that; we're just against arbitrary policy based on the length of time and stay."
According to volunteers, per the current verbiage of this new policy, there are 12 dogs currently at risk for euthanasia. Since learning of the changes, volunteers have been focused on training and developing skills in order to get them adopted.
Ideally, Farley would like to see a process evaluation based on standards.
"If a dog is perhaps hitting a three-month or six-month mark at the shelter, setting up a treatment plan before the dog deteriorates or is there for a long time," she said, explaining that the plan would help achieve the goal of getting the dog adopted successfully. "To me, just a blanket policy of a year stay is not based on any best practice, any research, or any facts that I know of."
Before turning to euthanasia, Farley hopes a dog would be evaluated "multiple times" by a "highly trained and certified behavioral specialist." She also recommends measures such as enrichment programs for the dog, additional training, and different strategies to better market and support the dog.
"We're working to create solutions to this, and different policies that are going to be solution-focused, positive-focused," she stressed. "That's what we’re spending a lot of our energy and time on — how can we solve this problem? How can we make it better?"
These new rules and regulations go with the county's new facility, which opened in the fall. Bittle says the previous shelter faced issues with capacity, with no policy to be able to euthanize a dog that wasn't adoptable, referencing sickness or aggression.
In September, the brand new $3 million shelter opened, giving Ashland County's dogs in need a much more nurturing place to land. The facility can hold up to 69 dogs, and features an indoor play yard and outdoor play yard as well as two meet-and-greet rooms. Additionally, the space includes a community education space for adopters who have never owned a dog before to get a training course.
"We have floor heat for the dogs, inside and outside kennels. I mean, we put a lot of money for the comfort of the dogs inside the facility and made the best facility that we think is one of the best in the state of Ohio," Bittle said. "So if we didn't have the passion for dogs, we obviously wouldn't have done that."
Bittle tells WKYC he will be meeting with his fellow commissioners Tuesday morning to discuss the policy language, and expects to hear community input at Thursday's Board meeting. He will also speak with the team at the shelter this week.
"I'd really like to get the input from the community on how to word that, once they understand our intention on that, and they can help us write that," he said.
3News obtained a copy of the new Ashland County Dog Shelter Rules and Regulations, which can be viewed below:
Volunteers and staff members at the Ashland County Dog Shelter have created a petition, which can be viewed HERE, as part of their efforts to try and get the policy changed. They've also created a fund to support the dogs. Click here to see their adoptable dogs, and reach out to volunteerashlandcodogshelter@gmail.com if you'd like to volunteer at the shelter.
