APL, Dog Warden and Dog Licenses of Portage County

Animal Protective Services of Portage County is a private, non-profit animal shelter and humane society which runs on a “limited access, unlimited stay” basis. According to APL’s mission and philosophy statement, this means that “adoptable animals remain at the shelter until the right home is found. And “all animals admitted to the shelter will receive the love and care they deserve.”

Executive Director of the Portage Animal Protective League, Chalan Lowry, said their organization is the only one in the county that is authorized to uphold animal cruelty laws.

Lowry was kind enough to have an impromptu interview with us, as well as show us around the shelter and answer any questions we may have.

How does the APL work?

“We have a humane officer who investigates animal cruelty for the entire county. And from there, we can take in injured or sick animals, or injured and sick stray animals that for example, that may be hit by a car, a sick cat with kittens, etc.,” Lowry said.

“Those animals come to us. We also adopt out animals and take surrendered animals. Sometimes people fall in hard times and cannot keep their pets anymore, and so when we have space for it, we take them in as well.”

Adoption services play a large role in the work that APL does on a daily basis. “We take in animals and ultimately want to find them homes,” Lowry said.

There is an application process for adoption applicants, but much of the decision making as to who is the good fit for the animal is based on a conversation.

“We are trying to find out what they are looking for, and if they are a good match for the animal that they are interested in. Sometimes people will pick animals based on looks, and not really what their lifestyle allows for,” Lowry said.

Lowry said there are instances that they will deny people interested in adopting.

“Most of our animals have come from not-so-great situations. So, for example, if you want a dog to live outside in your backyard for the rest of their life tied to a dog house, we are not going to let you do that.”

The organization is avid about finding pets a home where they can be safe, indoor pets, where they are cared and loved for. “We are not passing judgment on people that have outdoor pets, it’s just that our animals, they’ve been through enough,” Lowry said.

Injured, sick and cruelty cases are the first priority in taking in animals.

“Those come whether or not we want them to. So even if we are full and don’t have any space left but a dog gets hit by a car and it doesn’t have an owner, we’re coming to get it.”

After injured, sick or cruelty cases, the next requests are based on hierarchy of the situation, for example, if someone calls in that no longer has the space for an animal, or is moving to a place where pets are not allowed.

“Right now it’s kitten season, so we’ve probably got almost 40 kittens. Most of them are being bottle-fed in foster homes, which is another way that people can volunteer,” Lowry said. “We have space for 25 dogs, and probably 60 or 70 cats.”

The organization does not take in wildlife animals, which may seem obvious, but not obvious to everyone, according to Lowry. “We are not equipped to handle animals that require that kind of care.”

“We’ve had rats, we’ve had bunnies, we’ve had guinea pigs. If you have a pet tarantula, we will take the tarantula too.”

There are 13 or 14 staff members right now, and most of the current staff at APL works part-time.

“Only a handful of them are full time, such as myself, our shelter manager and our dog coordinator. Everyone else is part-time,” Lowry said. “We rely on volunteers to play with the dogs and cats, planning events, helping our event planning committee, fundraising, and things like that.”

How is APL funded?

APL is completely funded by donations. Lowry said the budget is in the $500,000-600,000 a year range, taking in almost a thousand animals a year.

All of these animals receive medical care, such as veterinary care, spay and neutering, vaccines, deworming, fleas and needed surgeries under the support of donations.

“We are a private, non-profit, so literally every dollar that comes in is a donation,” Lowry said. “Whether it’s the person who gives 10 dollars, or the person who gives $1,000 a year, it all adds up, and we need it.”

As far as getting the word out for their needs to the public, Lowry said a lot of people are aware of their organization and the importance of what they do, but there are a lot of people who aren’t.

“We are kind of out here in the middle of nowhere, and they do get the dog warden and us confused, and don’t realize the difference of us being a humane society and not government funded.”

Lowry said she hopes that our interview at APL will help get their word out, and inform more people of what they are trying to do.

The organization holds fundraising events every year as well. They market themselves on social media, and their Facebook page is almost at 7,000 likes. “We do get a good bit of information out to the community and we just hope it keeps spreading so that we can keep our funding up,” Lowry added.

Lowry said APL works with the government in many ways.  “We have the ability to file charges against people for cruelty. When we do that, we work with the local prosecutors and local law enforcement, and sometimes they will help us with cases. Sheriffs are very helpful to us as well,” Lowry said.

The Portage County Dog Warden works in part with APL interchangeably.

“They provide different services, but we are all here for the animals,” Lowry said. “If the Dog Warden needs help, needs us to take some animals, we are happy to do that.”

The Dog Warden of Portage County is government funded, unlike APL. There is more than just funding concerns in maintaining these facilities. There is also the matter of the actual operation of these places, along with upholding the law.

David McIntyre, Chief Dog Warden for Portage County, said that Portage County Dog Warden is just like any other Dog Warden in the state. “We have to enforce the Ohio Revised Code 955, which is the section that deals with dogs running at large, licensing the dogs, and then dangerous and vicious dogs.”

What is the process of getting a dog license and why do you need one?

According to Portage County’s website, the Ohio law requires that “all dogs be licensed by the time they are three months of age. A license can be obtained at our office, the County Auditor’s office and several locations throughout the county.”

McIntyre said dog licenses start long ago during a time where it was more for farmer’s needs. “Animals would actually attack farmer’s livestock, and that was their way to go into the dog and kennel fund, and re-coop the money for the animals they had lost.”

McIntyre said the only way to prove ownership of a dog is through a license.

“Now, with as many people and houses and dogs that are out there, it’s changed now to where the state wants everybody to just have control over all dogs, so if the dog is on the loose, we want to get them back home,” said McIntyre.

How is the Dog Warden funded?

McIntyre said the Dog Warden is not funded through tax dollars, and is considered an enterprise fund.

“In an enterprise fund, the only money we can spend is the money that we bring in. So all the money that we bring in comes from dog licenses, any adoptions we may have, or redemption. So if you lose a dog, you bring it in here, and we regain them back to you,” McIntyre said. In other words, if someone’s dog runs away, the owner needs to come in to claim their dog back.

McIntyre said that all of these funds added up annually probably amounts to about $450,000 a year.

“We’ve got a total of six people on staff, three full-time deputies, myself, and then two full-time facility keepers who house the dogs.”

The Warden takes in roughly 800-1,200 dogs per year into their shelter.

“Most of the dogs leave here through adoption, redemption or rescue groups. We don’t euthanize unless a dog is either sick or vicious. So all of the other dogs, find their way to some kind of home.”

As far as adoption purposes, McIntyre said that by law, there are two different requirements for how long they will hold dogs for. “If you have a license, I have to hold onto your dog for fourteen days. If you do not have a license on the dog when it comes in here I only have to hold it for three days before I can adopt it out to somebody else.”

McIntyre said licenses cost fifteen dollars, and if you are late to purchase, the state allows you to purchase them anywhere from the time period of December 1st to January 30th. Anytime after this time period, the cost is thirty dollars.

McIntyre said it is the Dog Warden’s responsibility to reinforce these regulations to people.

Why does someone need a dog license?

“There are multiple reasons. To prove ownership. If you do not have a dog license, I cannot prove that a dog is yours if it is lost. Dog licenses are the only way to show ownership of the dog, according the the Ohio Revised Code.,” he said

McIntyre said if someone chooses to not get a dog license, it is a minor misdemeanor. “They could go to court and get fined up to $150 for the first offense, and for the second, it goes up to a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.”

McIntyre said they try not to do this with people, because many people don’t understand that there is a dog license that they have to have for their dog.

“We are community-oriented first, but we always seem to find those people that are given reminder after reminder, after reminder, and they still don’t want to comply,” he said.

McIntyre said the Warden doesn’t necessarily stop people on the street to reinforce dog licenses, but they have a county record of them. They also send canvases out during the summer and they will go door to door trying to sell people tags who do not have them.

“Out of the 800-1,200 dogs we bring in here, we find that just a handful of them, like 20 a year, actually have a license when they come in.”

McIntyre said the Dog Warden’s relationship with APL is a needed thing.

“You have the enforcement unit and then you have the Animal Protective League, which houses as a humane office. Both entities have certain and different roles. The humane officers are allowed to enforce certain things we are not allowed to enforce.”

McIntyre said the Dog Warden strictly works with dogs, where APL works with many other animals.

“Our guys are out daily, and we do use volunteers out here as well. The dogs we have here on a daily basis is usually around 20-30 dogs. We try to keep them friendly and keep them adoptable,” said McIntyre.

Dog owners of Portage County who wish to purchase a dog license can find out more information here.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Animal Protective League of Portage county, please visit their website to learn about the ways you can help.