Considering himself as a “problem solver for Ashland County government,” the new dog warden outlined his goals for commissioners after his first month on the job.
“Having the full benefit of being an Ashland County (Sheriff's Office) deputy and all the stuff that comes with that, I have all the resources a cop would have,” Hall said at Thursday's meeting. “And it has been absolutely great.”
Hall was hired after Joe Eggerton left the position of dog warden earlier this summer.
Commissioner Mike Welch noted the positives of having someone of Hall’s stature and experience in the position while he was perusing the chatline for county commissioners in Ohio. Wyandot County and Stark County do the same thing, according to Welch.
Hall said one of the first things he noticed after starting the job was the high number of unrenewed dog licenses. After conferring with the commissioners and the county Auditor's Office, letters were sent to all of the people who had not renewed.
Hall said he wanted the public to understand how he would patrol the situation.
Proceeding with idea of 'building bridges, not walls'
“I strongly believe in the strategy of building bridges, not walls,” he said. “So I try to have good conversation with everybody that I encounter. I try to make every encounter positive. My goal is not to lean on citations to gain compliance, and I spoke to everybody about that openly.”
He added he wants to remain reachable and be able to discuss ideas and issues with anyone.
“I have a work phone and that number has been public now for sometime,” Hall said.
He said the shelter is vital to the community and its values. But with that in mind, the license renewals are vital as well.
“(The shelter) needs money to operate at its highest potential,” Hall said. “And the law states that it is funded by dog license, adoptions, fees and a few other sources of income like donations.”
County Auditor Cindy Funk said 919 nonrenewal letters were sent.
“People are calling asking why they got a letter or giving information on deceased dogs,” she said. “One lady - well quite a few - did not know they were to inform us if their dog is deceased. Now they know.”
“I admit, I didn’t know either,” said Commissioner Denny Bittle.
Hall said he plans to be visible at events, such as the Ashland County Fair.
“If this many people didn’t know (notifying the office about a deceased dog), it’s probably because we didn’t educate them,” he said. “And that is the future of my actions. We have to educate people to understand what we need of them.”
Hall said he handled 55 calls in 18 days, including one animal neglect case, and resolved 179 dog license issues in 17 days, and zero citations were written.
Funding plan to deal with deceased and injured dogs
Hall said he was going to look into creating a fund to assist in properly disposing or helping dogs that have been injured or killed and found on roadways and highways. The fund also would assist dogs in need of medical care that are brought in from a road incident. He like to have the fund in place by December.
“We have no way in caring for injured dogs or dogs that are deceased on the roadway near a civilized area,” he said. “We need to find ways to care for them. As I traveled and reached out to find other solutions, I found that Union County has a fund they created with voluntary donations that go along with the dog licenses. I would like to call it the Top Notch Care Fund. I believe this fund would solve a lot of issues for us.”
Hall complimented the employees at the dog shelter.
“That is one of the cleanest shelters I have been in,” he said. “These people honestly care about every moment they are there.”
Hall said there is work still to be done, but is looking forward to the challenge.
“We just have to work through it as a community. This is everyone’s responsibility," he said. "We will work through it and make changes that we need to make.”
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