ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners Thursday approved hikes to fees associated with the Ashland County Dog Shelter to help cover costs related to canine healthcare. The shelter will also launch Saturday hours starting in July, staff announced.
Starting July 1, fees to adopt, redeem and house a dog at the shelter will see slight increases.
| Adoption Fee (new vs. old) | Redemption Fee (new vs. hold) | Daily Housing Fee (new vs. old) |
| $180 vs. $175 | $40 vs. $30 | $15 vs. $10 |
Shannon Hamilton, the shelter’s kennel manager since December, said funds from the increase in fees will help offset costs associated with testing and treating dogs for Lyme disease and heartworm.
“The health of our dogs at the shelter is paramount,” Hamilton said, adding healthy dogs increase adoption rates, which is the shelter’s ultimate goal.
He said testing dogs for Lyme disease is not currently happening within the shelter. One infected dog, according to Hamilton, is hanging on to life by a thread. Veterinarians aren’t optimistic for its cure.
The extra money raised in fee hikes will pay for Lyme disease test kits, so that dogs infected with the ailment can begin early treatment, which involves a four-week antibiotic regimen, according to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Saturday hours
The ultimate goal, Hamilton said, is to find a home for the dogs. That mission also drove staff at the shelter to open its doors to the public on Saturdays. Starting July 12, the shelter will be open each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Hopefully this will help us with adoptions and redemptions,” he said.
The shelter’s regular hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday will still be in place. Adoptions are by appointment only, according to the shelter’s website.
Since January 1, the shelter has seen an intake of 105 dogs, with 26 in care currently.
| Ashland County Dog Shelter Service | Number of dogs (since Jan. 1, 2025) |
| Intake | 105 |
| Sheltered | 26 |
| Adoptions | 41 |
| Reclamations | 43 |
| Rescued | 13 |
| Foster care | 5 |
| Euthanize | 4 |
The four dogs that have been euthanized were done so under the shelter’s new policy, adopted in October. Hamilton cited behavioral concerns for their terminations.
Hamilton said five dogs have undergone the shelter’s new foster program, launched officially in February. Three of those fostered have since been adopted.
Ashland County Sheriff’s deputy Curtis Hall, who commissioners appointed as the county’s deputy dog warden in January, said the shelter is operating under a new mantra.
“It’s no longer acceptable to take a dog and not find it a home,” he said. “If I can get any lead on who the owner is, I go out and make contact with them.”
He said those returns might come with a citation, but the dog is at least in a home.
Hall said he continues to chip away at getting dog owners to renew licenses. That number, in May 2024, sat at 943 across the county. It is now at 491.
“As we move forward, I want to be honest, it’s not the un-renewed I’m concerned about,” Hall said, addressing commissioners on Thursday. “It’s the ‘never had’ … so there’s probably going to a certain amount of citations from that in the future. It’s going to be uncharacteristic of me, but I think I have to make a stand somewhere on that.”
A ‘complete change’
Commissioner Denny Bittle praised Hall’s and Hamilton’s efforts that have led to a “complete change” to the shelter’s operation.
A year ago, commissioners bailed out the shelter with a $130,000 transfer, a financial injection meant to keep the facility operational through 2024. The money was needed because of a lack of keeping up with dog license renewals (a line item that amounts to 84% of the shelter’s annual budget) and higher utility bills.
Shortly after the transfer, the warden of three years said he was forced to resign. Commissioners did not hire another warden, instead opting to appoint a deputy dog warden through the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office.
The warden turnover came amidst tumult in personnel issues that arose from a controversial euthanasia policy, which commissioners have since modified.
“I just can’t tell you two enough — and we’ve spent many hours. Nobody has any idea the number of hours that’s spent by these two guys to change the system,” Bittle said. “I can’t tell you enough how proud I am of you two guys and what we’ve accomplished.”
The commissioner also expressed appreciation for the shelter’s effort to make stronger relationships with surrounding agencies and the community.
One such relationship is budding with Ashland Church Community Emergency Shelter Services (ACCESS), a homeless shelter agency. The organization wishes to partner with the dog shelter’s foster program, said Sunny McCarty, ACCESS’s executive director.
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