Ashland Commissioners, Sheriff Determine Dog Warden Position Duties

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

With the resignation of county dog warden Joe Eggerton, commissioners say the position could take an entirely new direction.

“We are working with the sheriff's office to take over the dog warden duties,” Denny Bittle said during Thursday's commissioners' meeting, noting that July 1 was the target date for the change.

The announcement came two weeks after Eggerton resigned following an executive meeting in which he and county administrators discussed their views on different job responsibilities.

Bittle said the board is working on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that could lead to the appointment of a full-time Ashland County sheriff's officer dedicated to dog guard duties, although nothing has not yet been written.

“It’s simply a contract between the sheriff and the commissioners,” Bittle said.

Kennel manager Patricia Hootman asked where the new recruit would be.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Justice said, but “my understanding is that they will be at the shelter.” They won't run the kennel, but they will be there. Or they will make calls or check licenses. Doing what a dog sitter is supposed to do.

Bittle said the new employee's two main responsibilities will be dealing with stray dogs and tracking down licenses that haven't been renewed.

“It’s better than what we have right now,” Bittle said. “They will attack dog licenses. They will attack the dogs. The board of directors will still maintain the operation of the dog shelter. I don't know how much time they will spend in the office or on the road. But it will also keep everyone here (at the shelter) safe.

He went on to say that Clerk Sherri Maneese would “take over some of the administrative work here, outside of this office, that Joe was doing.”

Bittle said he thought it might be a better way to handle the job's duties.

“At this point, it looks like things could be a lot better at the community level,” he said. “They will be able to work better with cities, much better with villages and with individuals. This will pretty much be his full-time job.

Commissioner James Justice said the work would enable an even broader approach to animal management.

“This person will make bigger animals,” he said. “Horses, cows and all that. This will also help the Humane Society.

Welch said Ashland is not the only, or even the first, county to operate this way.

“A few other counties are doing this,” Commissioner Mike Welch said. “Wyandot County has a memorandum of understanding with the county commissioners and the sheriff’s department. Stark County is also doing the same thing. I noticed this on the County Commissioners Association chat line and it piqued my interest. So I called Wyandot and got a copy of the memorandum of understanding. That's what we're looking at.

Lina Portman

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