MANSFIELD — A successful public fundraiser will result in new, more spacious and drier kennels for residents of the Richland County Dog Warden’s Office & Adoption Shelter.
Dog Warden Missy Houghton met with county commissioners on Tuesday to announce a GoFundMe campaign by volunteer supporters of the Home Road shelter had raised just over $24,000 in the last four months.
She said the current kennels along the wall were installed when the building was constructed about 25 years ago and each has a partition in it since they were initially designed to house smaller dogs.
“These kennels don’t really drain out well so the floors stay wet longer,” Houghton said. “(With the new kennels), you can adjust the floors so the water will flow back to the drains better.”
She said the new two-story kennels will also not have partitions. That will leave the entire kennel, each of which is three-feet tall and four-feet wide, open for the dog.
She said the funds raised would go to a recently formed non-profit, My Dog Shelter Friends, which would then pay for the actual kennels.
The group’s original goal was $15,000, but had to be increased when quotes were received from kennel manufacturers.
The county maintenance department will install the kennels, Houghton said.
Houghton, who said the kennel housed 98 dogs as of Tuesday (down from a record-high of 143 in the summer of 2023), said volunteers and public financial support help make the lives of the dogs better.
In Ohio, dog warden operations are largely self-funded through the sale of dog tag licenses, fines and other fees. In Richland County, that’s just around $505,000 in 2024.
“(Volunteers) offer so much more opportunity for the dogs in our care then we would be able to as (a) self-sustaining (operation),” Houghton said.
“For the past four years, (volunteers) have covered any medical expense that we have incurred through Phillips Animal Hospital. Any dog that comes in with skin issues, infections, broken legs or needs surgery … all of that has been covered without us having to pay anything.
“The volunteers come in currently because we have so many dogs (that) they (might not) get a chance to get (outside). So we have volunteers that come in every single day and make sure every single dog is walked.
“We have play yards now, from fundraising from the volunteers in the community through a 5K (race), where we’re able to put groups of dogs out together in the play yard, which enhances their social skills.
“That increases the adoptability of the dog because you can see how well they do with other dogs.
“It makes their behavior in their kennels better because it reduces their stress. Studies have shown that 20 minutes of a play group with dogs is more effective than an hour walk,” Houghton said.
“So we can get more dogs mentally stimulated and exercised throughout the day because of (volunteers).
“And that’s something that we would not be able to fund by ourselves,” the dog warden said.
Commissioner Tony Vero said commissioners are pleased with Houghton’s operation of the dog warden’s office and kennel, as well as the community support that work has generated.
“It is a pretty tight budget. The taxpayers and volunteers, stepped up and did their best and are doing their best to assist where necessary. (Shelter) numbers are up all across the, the country. We believe that’s related to inflation and the economy.
“We have a great group of volunteers that allows our shelter to care for a large number of dogs beyond what we usually have,” Vero said.
At the end of 2022, commissioners approved spending $505,501 to pay off previous construction work done at the dog warden’s facility.
“Missy and her team do a great job and we’ve set aside money to pay off the debt. So we now have a debt-free building, so to speak, in terms of mortgage payments.
“We are pleased with the direction of the dog warden (operation) and we’re pleased with our dog warden and her group,” he said.
Houghton also said a project is still being planned to have baffle-type panels installed in the ceiling of the main kennel and west wing to reduce the collective noise of barking dogs at the Home Road adoption shelter.
Aided by a grant from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Acoustical Solutions, based in Henrico, Va., hopes install the panels in areas where indoor decibel levels in the 80s and 90s have been recorded.
According to the National Council on Aging, 90 decibels is similar in volume to a lawn mower — and it would be running in an enclosed space.
The total cost for the project would be $29,207. A BWC grant would cover 75 percent ($21,905). Commissioners agreed in February to pay the remaining 25 percent from county capital funds.
“We are just waiting to hear back on the grant (application),” Houghton said Tuesday.
