Demand Reform for Harrison County's Neglected Dogs

You can't call the Harrison County Dog Pound in Cadiz, Ohio a "shelter." For one thing, it doesn't have exterior walls. The conditions are appalling. Water bowls are left to freeze over, dogs suffer from frostbite, kennels are left filthy, the deadly parvovirus runs rampant and the animals apparently don't receive vet care. They've blocked out rescues and volunteers who want to help, and don't keep the facility open often enough for people to adopt or find lost pets.

The Harrison County Commissioners actually defended the conditions at the facility, saying "We are a dog pound, not an animal shelter."

But as Robin McClelland, Executive Director of the Appalachian Ohio SPCA, wrote in letter to the County Commissioners calling for reform: "One can argue the difference between a 'pound' and a 'shelter.' Regardless of the label you choose, no one can argue that any publicly funded facility should be operated simply as a warehousing death camp for animals which fosters suffering, rather than compassion."

This is the link...please sign the petition. Thank you!

http://animals.change.org/petitions/view/demand_reform_for_harrison_countys_neglected_dogs

Justice for Dogs Neglected at Ohio Dog Pound

We have written about this before also, but it needs some more attention. Read up and if you haven't signed up to make a difference please do so now.

You can't call the Harrison County Dog Pound in Cadiz, Ohio a "shelter." For one thing, it doesn't have exterior walls. (In case you're wondering, it's about 27 degrees Fahrenheit in Cadiz today, with a prediction of snow showers later tonight.) They can't even use water to clean the cages for fear of ice, and the dogs suffer from frostbite.

If this was a facility just doing its best to get by in a small, poverty-stricken town, that would be bad enough. But this place also doesn't meet the definition of shelter as a place of refuge. The conditions are appalling. Water bowls are left to freeze over, kennels are left filthy, the deadly parvovirus runs rampant and the animals apparently don't receive vet care. Stacy Skinner, a volunteer, told a local news station that the county wants her banned from the pound for trying to help the animals.

In September, the Ohio SPCA filed a lawsuit against county commissioners and former dog wardens for operating a substandard facility. The lawsuit alleges that not only are the conditions unsanitary and inhumane, but the facility isn't open enough for people to adopt or claim lost dogs.

Help the animals of Harrison County and the activists who are fighting for them by calling on the County Prosecutor and the Attorney General to investigate the dog pound and the county commissioners running it, and to prosecute those found responsible for the neglect to the full extent of the law.

Sign the petition:

http://animals.change.org/blog/view/dogs_left_out_in_the_cold_by_harrison_county_officials?me=nl