MANSFIELD — The Richland County Dog Shelter celebrated its operation as a no-kill shelter for five straight years on Wednesday morning.
“That’s really why we’re here today, is to celebrate you all for the dogs, rescuing them,” commissioner Marylin John said. “We all know what you do for animals is really important for the county.”
In 2017, the dog shelter connected more than 900 dogs with new owners. It also reunited nearly 5,000 loose pets with their families over the past five years.
Recently, Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero was at the gym when a man asked him, “Where are all the dogs?”
Vero replied, “There aren’t any.”
Dog Warden Dave Jordan said he hears that question often.
“They’re being adopted. We’re not getting as many,” he said. “It’s a good thing. They are used to having 50, 60 dogs to choose from.”
The declining animal count corresponds with the shelter educating adopters about spay and neutering, registering their dogs and running background checks on adopters to make sure dogs will go to a good home.
When Jordan began his career at the shelter (in 2002), he regularly saw 200 dogs being euthanized a month, he said.
“In 2004 when I took over, we decided we needed to stop doing this,” Jordan said. “We worked hard at changing the policies.”
The following year, the shelter began a spay and neutering policy and ran background checks on those looking to adopt.
“Those two things brought us to the point where we’re at now,” he continued. “There’s fewer stray dogs. Now we’re at the point where things are going well. The polices wouldn’t have been as successful without the help of our staff and volunteers.”
Occasionally, Jordan said the shelter still has to euthanize a dog because of its poor health or aggressive behavior.
The county shelter has seen additional success through its Facebook page, which shows photos, videos and information about current dogs. The page is run by all seven staff members.
“You guys are doing too good of a job with that page,” joked Vero, as he pet his 14-year-old golden retriever, Molly. “I always have to tell my wife, ‘No. We are not getting another dog.’
“That Facebook page is doing wonders.”
John read a letter of commendation to the shelter.
“Thank you for working tirelessly to find homes for all of the dogs and for making the shelter a no-kill shelter,” she said. “Thank you to the staff of the Richland County Dog Shelter for going above and beyond for Richland County.”
