Dog kennel getting spruced up

A new sign will help people find the kennel.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

HOWLAND — After weeks of controversy at the Trumbull County Dog Kennel, chief Dog Warden Bob Campana says improvements to the kennel and to its procedures have the facility moving in a positive direction.

County commissioners are expected to approve a proposal today by Durloast Roofing Inc. of Saginaw, Mich., and Holko Enercon Inc. of Fowler to install a new roof on the Anderson Avenue facility for $20,490.

They are also likely to approve a measure that will create volunteers that will assist the four paid workers there with a variety of tasks and set down procedures they must follow.

Conflicts between volunteers and the kennel workers have made headlines in recent weeks as “dog rescuer” Sandra Paris of Portage County told commissioners Aug. 29 that 93 percent of the dogs that enter the county facility are euthanized — a number that is more than double the state average.

She complained that Campana hasn’t cooperated with her group’s efforts to save a higher percentage of the dogs.

Since then, county maintenance workers have spent more than a week at the kennel, replacing cracked and deteriorated concrete blocks, painting the exterior, and doing preliminary work to build five additional caged areas outdoors where the animals can exercise.

Other plans

County Personnel Director James Keating said Tuesday he has talked to the union representing the kennel’s workers to see what work rules need to be changed to allow the volunteers to assist the operation and to expand the kennel’s hours of operation.

The facility currently is open 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and officials have discussed the possibility of adding Saturday hours.

Campana said he looks forward to establishing a good relationship with volunteers, who will be able to walk the dogs inside the large fenced area of the kennel, clean the cages and dog runs, and feed the animals.

Campana said he is hopeful that a new process for screening and training volunteers will enable them to work well together. The screening will include criminal background checks.

When the volunteer group is up and running, applications to join will be available at the dog kennel, county human resources office in the County Administration Building on High Street in downtown Warren, or by calling the county’s human resources department at (330) 675-2460.

Easier to find

Campana said the county also plans to install a sign on state Route 46 at Anderson Avenue that will alert people to the location of the dog kennel at the end of Anderson.

Kim Smith, the kennel’s secretary, said she knows someone who lived on Anderson for 10 years and didn’t know the dog kennel was located there.

The recent publicity surrounding complaints has brought more people to the facility, she said, because so few people knew it was there.

Campana said the replaced blocks in the walls, new glass-block windows and the new roof will greatly reduce the cost of running the facility and allow officials to use the money on things that will help the animals.

Some months last winter, the 2,000-square-foot building was costing around $800 per month just for natural gas to heat it, Campana said.

runyan@vindy.com