In fall, county pounds fill with dogs abandoned by thoughtless owners avoiding surrender fee

For some reason when the leaves fall and temperature starts to go down, Mahoning County Dog Pound and Trumbull County Dog Warden and Kennel fill up.

Dianne Fry, Mahoning’s dog warden, said the pound is full. In 2014, the pound handled 1,478 dogs; this year so far, 1,067 dogs have come in; last year at this time, the number was 965. “We’re at the point we’re starting to set up folding cages,” she said. “The fall tends to be very busy and this one is.” The pound has room for 48 dogs but has 70.

Gwen Logan, Trumbull’s executive dog warden, said that kennel handles about 800 dogs annually; it has 14 interior/exterior kennels and 10 exterior kennels. She said the kennel has a 96 percent adoption rate. “An 88 percent rate is considered a no-kill shelter,” she said.

If the kennel has space, it takes owner turn-in dogs with a fee of $56. “People don’t want to pay. They say they found the dog as a stray,” Logan said. “The dog is scared to death and left at the kennel with no name ... they love their name.”

Fry said the surrender fee in Mahoning County is $60 for an unvetted and unfixed dog and $40 for one that is vetted and fixed. “There is no doubt when it’s an owner dog the person says is a stray. The kids are usually crying and the dog goes nuts when the person leaves,” she said.

Read more about the situation in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.