Sunday, October 21, 2012
Mahoning County ranks among lowest in Ohio in shelter kill rates for dogs
Associated Press
COLUMBUS
The survival chances for a dog in an animal shelter in Ohio could depend on which county the animal is impounded in.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the statewide average shows that 70 percent of dogs taken to shelters last year were reclaimed by their owners or adopted. But the rates of euthanizing dogs ranged from only 1 percent to Carroll County to 81 percent in Lawrence County.
Mahoning County ranks among the lowest kill rates among the state’s 88 counties at 5.7 percent.
Trumbull County’s dog euthanasia rate is 16.3 percent, while Columbiana County reports a 14.6 percent rate.
The Dispatch analyzed figures obtained from 85 of Ohio’s 88 counties about dogs that were impounded last year.
Some dog wardens caution that it is difficult to compare shelters in rural, urban or suburban areas because they take in vastly different numbers of dogs and types of dogs.
Experts praise wardens who work with communities to publicize adoptable dogs.