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Help needed for animal shelter

To the editor:

As the owner of the Ohio Shelter Dog Crossposting page on Facebook, I work with volunteers from shelters in Ohio to raise awareness about adoptable dogs, including those at the Jefferson County Animal Shelter.

I have received several complaints about how the warden and the assistant warden killed dogs for various reasons, many of which appear unjustifiable. They choose to kill dogs according to their mood and preference when the shelter is not full.

On March 1, a volunteer publicly stated her experience in trying to rescue a dog from this facility. They killed this dog, Nellie, while giving various excuses for their action. Many people had seen the dog’s picture. She was a perfectly healthy dog and was ready for adoption. The warden first claimed she was aggressive to men, then later claimed the dog had parvovirus, though there were no signs of this, and no evidence that the dog had even been tested for the disease. Many people are aware of this incident, including the county commissioners.

I’m now working with a group of people, known as Advocates for Jefferson County, Ohio Sheltered Animals, attempting to collect evidence to officially submit to the Jefferson County commissioners, so that they will investigate how this shelter is being operated.

We want the shelter to be reformed, and we believe others do, too. No more unnecessary killings at the shelter. That’s not why taxpayers agreed to a levy to have it built. Please call your commissioners and tell them how you feel.

Laura Cheng

Westerville

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