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“The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s.” – Mark Twain
MANSFIELD — The Richland County Dog Warden and Adoption Shelter is in “dire” need of residents willing to accept a new pet, according to county Dog Warden Missy Houghton.
The shelter at 810 N. Home Road had 102 dogs as of Monday afternoon, according to Houghton.
“We either need people to adopt or we need people to come to the shelter and pick up their dogs,” Houghton said. “We are definitely in need.”
She said all dog shelters began seeing an uptick in population beginning in early 2022, “once people started going back to work and inflation hit and people stopped getting COVID assistance.
“We have also seen some behavioral issues … there are a whole lot of reasons why people can’t keep their pets,” Houghton said.
She said the shelter has continued to “adopt out” dogs at the same rate.
“We adopted out almost 450 dogs last year,” Houghton said. “But we took in more than 1,000.
“The need is dire,” she said. “It’s not just our facilities. It’s all facilities. Shelters like ours used to rely on rescues (for overflow), but rescues are all full, too, and they aren’t able to pull from us.
“We are not getting the relief from rescue partners that we were able to get before,” she said.
The Richland County Dog Shelter has had a “no-kill” policy for the last nine years because less than 10 percent of the dogs who enter are euthanized by a local veterinarian — almost always for untreatable medical reasons.
“We have always held dogs until they are placed,” Houghton said. “We want that to continue. That is our goal.”
Houghton recommended residents watch the agency’s Facebook page for potential adoptions — or if their own dog comes up missing. It can be found at https://www.facebook.com/R.C.D.W.OfficeandShelter.
“We post a photo of every dog that comes into the shelter,” she said. “People can put in an application immediately, but we must hold a dog for seven days to make sure it doesn’t have any viruses.”
Adoption fees are $175, which includes the cost of spaying/neutering, deworming, first round of vaccines, microchipping and the current year dog license.
The shelter’s kennels are open to visitors Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Call 419-774-5892 for more information.
