Kill rates vary widely at Ohio dog shelters

Staff and ONO report

COLUMBUS

The fate of more than 100,000 dogs impounded annually in Ohio’s county-run animal shelters and dog pounds depends largely on where they wind up.

The animals stand a better chance of leaving some shelters alive because others euthanize dogs at higher rates, a Columbus Dispatch analysis of county pound data shows.

If they’re in Mahoning County, their chances for survival are strong. Only 5.7 percent of dogs here were euthanized last year.

If they’re in Lawrence County in southeastern Ohio, most will be killed. Lawrence County euthanized 81 percent of its shelter dogs last year, by far the highest rate in the state.

Carroll County, adjacent to Columbiana County, destroyed 1 percent, the lowest rate in the state.

The Dispatch analysis used figures obtained from 85 of the 88 counties to review what happened to dogs impounded in county shelters statewide last year. The analysis compared the number of dogs killed with the number that left the shelter through redemption by their owners or by adoption.

The statewide average showed that 70 percent of the dogs were redeemed or adopted, and 30 percent were euthanized.

Thousands more dogs were transferred from the county shelters and dog pounds to privately run humane societies and rescue organizations. The Dispatch analysis didn’t include transfers in the comparison because there was no way to track what happened to those dogs.

Dog wardens and other shelter professionals note, however, that the tremendous growth in the number of rescue groups willing to pull dogs from the county shelters to find them homes has played a significant role in reducing euthanasia rates.

Lawrence County Dog Warden Bill Click said the large number of dogs euthanized at his shelter was not unusual, and that last year was a normal year.

“It looks bad,” he said. “That’s awful.”

Click said he is trying to reduce the number of dogs destroyed. He attributed the high rate to the large number of dogs he handles at his shelter compared with other county shelters in his region.

The euthanasia rates at individual county shelters varied tremendously. Some dog wardens cautioned that it is difficult to compare urban and rural dog shelters because they take in vastly different numbers and types of dogs.

Other shelter professionals noted that there is no standard system for tracking the intake and outcome of shelter dogs in Ohio or nationally, making it difficult to gauge progress toward saving adoptable dogs.

Most counties operate their own shelters, including a few that have put their sheriff in charge. Some have contracts with their local humane society to run the county shelter. In southeastern Ohio, the Monroe County shelter also handles dogs picked up in Noble County, which doesn’t have a shelter.

The Dispatch analysis didn’t include Fayette County (whose dog totals weren’t broken down by category) and Hardin County (which doesn’t euthanize at its shelter and transferred 325 unadopted dogs to the Wyandot County Humane Society. The director there recalled that many, if not most, were put down).

Jefferson County did not respond to repeated requests for its shelter data.

How well a shelter performs in saving the most dogs reflects the outlook and philosophy of the individual dog warden, said Matt Granito, president of the Ohio County Dog Wardens Association. The best ones promote adoption, welcome volunteers and visitors into their shelters, and work with rescue groups, thereby reducing euthanasia rates, he said.

“More and more, progressive dog wardens are coming in and realizing that it is not the old way of capture, hold and kill,” said Granito, the dog warden of Geauga County.

Since he became Mahoning County dog warden in May 2011, Matt Ditchey said he has not euthanized any dogs except those that were extremely aggressive, severely injured or seriously ill.

He said last month, however, that may have to change soon, and the pound may have to euthanize simply due to overcrowding.

The dog pound on Industrial Road now houses many large dogs, which are less popular for adoption because they require more food, space and exercise than smaller dogs, Ditchey added.

To encourage more adoptions from the pound, Friends of Fido, an animal-welfare group, is offering free spaying or neutering under its “Black Beauties” promotion for all black dogs adopted to indoor homes and under its “Wacky Wednesdays” promotion for all dogs adopted to indoor homes on Wednesdays.

The pound is open until 7 p.m. Wednesdays.