MANSFIELD — After rescuing a couple of St. Bernards playing in a commercial building’s holding pond along Ohio 13, Missy Houghton has to be ready for just about anything.
“One of them was a pup. The other was almost full grown. So that was about 250 pounds of wet, stinky dogs in the back of my car,” she said with a laugh.
Richland County commissioners are counting on Houghton’s experience, promoting her to assistant dog warden on Tuesday.
The former director of the Richland County Humane Society, Houghton joined the dog warden’s office almost a year ago as a deputy.
With current Dog Warden Dane Howard assuming a part-time role for the past few months, commissioners saw a need for additional leadership in the department, which now also consists of one deputy, an office manager and five full- or part-time kennel attendants.
Howard became the dog warden in March 2019 after a 30-year law enforcement officer, including eight years as the Huron County sheriff. He praised the commissioners’ decision, which was based on his recommendation.
“In my time as the dog warden, I have found the Board of Commissioners very supportive of our mission to find permanent homes for all the stray dogs we encounter,” Howard said Wednesday.
“The dynamics associated, even with a small operation, sometimes requires more than one person to supervise. During my time away and days off, we needed someone else who can take care of business,” Howard said.
The 40-year-old Houghton, a 1998 graduate of Clear Fork High School, has spent her career caring for animals, including the six cats and three dogs she now has at her home in Mansfield.
“I tend to have a soft spot in my heart for for things I consider, for lack of a better word, to be underdogs. It’s very important that you have someone who is willing to speak up for people and animals that can so easily be taken advantage of,” Houghton said.
“I like working with animals and I like working with people. This job is a nice conglomeration of both,” she said.
Houghton has made the transition from the not-for-profit, private humane society to the public, government-based dog warden’s office. Learning the administrative side of the position has been the biggest difference.
“We are fortunate that we have a good group of commissioners to work with. They are always ready to answer any questions that you have and they are incredibly supportive,” Houghton said.
“The animal handling skills are very similar, and I still get to interact with the public,” she said.
Howard said he hopes to see Houghton succeed in the dog warden’s office long after he is gone.
“Ultimately, my goal is to just serve this organization and the commissioners to the best of my ability and make this facility the best it can be,” Houghton said. “It all boils down to how do we best serve our community and the animals in our care.”
And how did she care for the burly St. Bernards?
“They were home about an hour after we picked them up,” she said. “They had gotten loose from their house and we got them back home right away.”
