Resignation of Ashland County dog warden prompts overhaul of job position

With the resignation of county Dog Warden Joe Eggerton, commissioners say the position could go in an entirely new direction.

“We are working with the Sheriff’s Office to take over duties of the dog warden,” Denny Bittle at the Thursday commissioner meeting, noting July 1 is the target date for the switch.

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

Bittle said the board is working on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that could lead to a fulltime Ashland County Sheriff's officer dedicated to dog warden duties, although nothing is in writing yet.

“It (MOU) is just a contract between the sheriff and commissioners,” Bittle said.

Kennel manager Patricia Hootman asked where the new hire would be located.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Justice said, but, “it is my understanding they are going to be at the shelter. They are not going to be running the kennel, but they are going to be there. Or they will be out on calls or checking licenses. Doing what a dog warden is supposed to be doing.”

Bittle said the new hire’s two main responsibilities would be stray dogs and going after licenses that haven't been renewed.

“It is better than we have now,” Bittle said. “They will go after dog licenses. They will go after the dogs. The board will still maintain operation of the dog shelter. I don’t know how much time that they will be at the office or on the road. But it will be keeping everybody safe right there (at the shelter) too.”

He went on to say clerk Sherri Maneese would “take over some of the administrative stuff here out of this office that Joe was doing.”

Bittle said he feels this could be a better way of handling the job duties.

“At this point it sounds like it could be way better community-wise,” he said. “They will be able to work better with the cities, way better with the villages and with the individuals. That will be pretty much his full-time job.”

Commissioner James Justice said the job will allow an even broader approach in dealing with animals.

“This person will do larger animals,” he said. “Horses, cows and all that. It will assist the Humane Society as well.”

Welch said Ashland is not alone, or even the first county, to operate in this manner.

“There are a couple other counties doing this,” Commissioner Mike Welch said. “Wyandot County has an MOU with the county commissioners and the sheriff’s department. Stark County also does the same thing. I happened to notice it on the chatline of the county commissioners association and it struck my interest. So I called Wyandot up and got a copy of the MOU. That is what we are looking at.”

At a recent meeting, it was brought to light that as of May 23 the county had 943 unrenewed dog licenses, and Bittle is hopeful the new hire will help in that area.

“We think it will be a whole lot better with the law enforcement side,” Bittle said. “They do have the legal authority and as Mr. Justice has said before, when you see a sheriff come up to your door to check licenses and you don’t have one, you are going to be way more respectful than a dog warden coming up to your door.

“We think it will carry a little bit more weight to do that. It is a real positive to put an 8-5 on the road," he said.