KC DOG BLOG

Assistance for Pets and a story about Oreo

2009-11-16T16:23:54-06:00

Last week, the New York Times ran a great article on various animal groups around the country that are helping people in low-income areas to provide food for their pets.

Pets make wonderful companions for people of all income levels, but sometimes it can be very difficult for people to financially afford the best for their pets. While some can judge the folks as not properly caring for their pets, to them, it's the best they can do.

Ollie Davidson, of the Tree House Humane Society in Chicago realizes he's helping both parties when they help pets: "We're helping people," he said. "In times of stress, it's always good to keep people with their pets."

And the help also allows dogs and cats that might otherwise end up in a crowded shelter from ending up there --- and any opportunity to keep a pet in a home is a great opportunity.

The Times article features several groups around the country, including Spay/Neuter Kansas City and Northland Pet Food Pantry in my city, that are helping people with low incomes to have adequate food, dog houses, dog bedding, etc. It really is a great program and I'm thrilled to have them in our city. Other groups featured were Tree House Humane Society and PAWS in Chicago, the Petco Foundation and their "We are Familie Too" program, Young at Heart Pet Rescue's Nina's Pet Food Pantry of Palentine, IL, and Northeast Community Lutheran Church in Minneapolis -- which is also providing pet food for needy families.

There's also a great photo album associated with the story here (go for no other reason than to check out the picture of the beautiful red bully). Most of the pics are from Kansas City.

The article ran in a special "giving" section of the newspaper last week.

If you have organizations like these in your home town, I strongly recommend a simple food donation, or time donation to help deliver the food, to help these organziations out. And if your city doesn't have one, how many human and animal lives can be improved if you started one? Don't hesitate. Start one in your home town.

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Meanwhile, there is a second story that I think is a must read. The story involves a dog named Oreo (get it, he's black and white). Oreo's owner was apparently a piece of crap of an individual and decided to throw Oreo off the side of a 6 story building. Oreo sustained major injuries including two broken legs, and a broken rib.

The ASPCA in New York raised money for Oreo and helped him to recover from his physical injuries -- unfortunately, Oreo wasn't able to overcome his emotional ones -- at least not in the time that the ASPCA alloted. The ASPCA determined that Oreo was too aggressive to go into a home*. Another organization, Pets Alive, that apparently specializes in dealing with rehabilitating dogs like Oreo, offered to take Oreo from the ASPCA and work on his rehabilitation -- and even if he was never able to be completely rehabbed, would be allowed to live out his life in their Sanctuary where dogs get walks and attention every day from volunteers.

* I should note that Oreo seems very calm in this photo taken by the ASPCA and far from "overly" aggressive"

The ASPCA opted to kill Oreo instead.

First off, I must say, that I support rescue groups' decisions to euthanize dogs that really are too aggressive to adopt into homes. There are too many great dogs in the world to not take that risk.

But I also believe that the vast majority of dogs with behavioral issues can be rehabilitated with tons of love and training by a dedicated person or group of people. And I believe that euthanasia is the "solution" only when there are absolutely no other options. It is the very last option, the end of the line. It's the end of the line for the dog, and thus, should be our very last resort.

It sounds as if the ASPCA euthanized Oreo, even though other options were available for Oreo. And I do have a problem with that.

I'm not going to go into a lot of details on this -- instead, I'll provide some links -- but I just want to emphasize that euthanasia is the VERY LAST RESORT, the end of the line, for pets. It should only be used when every single other safe option has been exhausted. And we need to hold our national organizations like the ASPCA to that standard.

Meanwhile, it sounds like Oreo's owner, Fabian Henderson,is scheduled for sentencing on December 1st after pleading guilty to aggravated animal cruelty.

Pets Alive Blog -- Failing Oreo.

ASPCA to Euthanize Oreo - from the New York Animal Welfare Examiner.

Deluge of pleas to spare Oreo thrown off roof -- the NY Times Blog

Oreo the abused pit bull is euthanized -- The New York Times

Oreo is dead, the blame game is not -- The Gothamist

ASPCA Statemen on the Euthanasia of Oreo - the ASPCA

ASPCA Euthanizes Oreo -- YesBiscuit!

Weekly Roundup, Week Ending 11/15/09

2009-11-15T12:13:18-06:00

It's been quite a week. Puerto Rico and Oak Harbor, WA each voted to repeal their respective breed bans, while Ontario announced that there will be a new bill pushing for the repeal of theirs. Meanwhile, BSL proponent and dog killer Tom Skeldon remains under harsh fire in Lucas County, OH. It's hard to not look at all of this and realize that the side of common sense, decency and respect for animals is winning....in spite of the occassional bump in the road.

Onto the week's other stories:

Cities and Laws

Ignoring the recommendations of all of the experts in the community, Hays, KS passed an ordinance that will requires all 'pit bulls' to be licensed, muzzled and microchipped.

A man in Peach Tree City, GA is asking for the city council to require special requirements for pit bull owners. If you live in or near PTC, be sure to contact your city commissioners and help them understand why this isn't the correct action to take and provide them with viable alternatives.

The city of Elkhart, IN decided against breed specific regulations in the city.

Auburn, CA has also decided against BSL. In fact, they deny even considering it. I still wonder if the concerns about BSL were real, or if they were completely fabricated by the media.

Lincoln, NE is considering some changes to their dangerous dog laws. At this point, they still seem to be focusing on behavior-based ordinances, however, if you are in the area, it is worth keeping an eye on.

Las Vegas appears to be eyeing laws that mandate spay/neuter for all owned pets -- -but are considering this because of a concerns over a growing feral cat population. How a law that requires owned pets be sterilized will affect non-owned pets is beyond me....

Dog bites/attacks

An Eaton Township Veterinarian was bitten by two Cane Corsos that she was trying to rescue that were wandering along the side of the road.

A Chihuahua in Washington County, MD was attacked and killed by a German Shepherd.

Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath's dog, a Yellow Labrador Retriever, has been declared dangerous by Palm Beach County Animal Control after it bit its third person in three years.

A 68 year old Jacksonville, FL woman was attacked by a 100 pound Rottweiler that was roaming at large.

A Detroit area woman was attacked by two at-large pit bulls. Residents in the neighborhood had called several times aobut the ogs the animal control officials had yet to show up to pick them up.

A 77 year old Boston woman was attacked by an English Bulldog. The dog reportedly bit the same woman two weeks prior.

A three year old child in Walton, GA was attacked by a 'pit bull' that was chained outside to a doghouse. No one knows what caused the dog to attack -- which then begs the question of why the three year old was roaming around with no supervision. At least the head of the Police Department notes that the attack was not a breed issue.

A tiny Maltese was killed when it was attacked by a Siberian Husky.

A greyhound is responsible for killing a small pomeranian at a dog park in Barrington, RI.

In Tonganoxie, KS, a two year old boy was bitten by mixed breed dog whom the boy attempted to "kiss". Earlier this summer, the small community of Tonganoxie decided it wanted to keep its breed ban in spite of both town veterinarians and their local Humane Society being opposed to it. Educating people on what really leads to dog attacks, vs focusing on breeds, continues to be a better way to protect the public from dog attacks.

The UK Dangerous Dogs Act

A man's German Shepherd in Edinburgh, Scotland is repsonsible for attacking a woman. In spite the Dangerous Dogs Act in the UK that banned four breeds of dogs, bites continue to go up because the real cause of such attacks are irresponsible pet owners, not dog breeds -- and the act focused on the wrong end of the leash.

Another story from out of the UK about an Alaskan Malamute that attacked a young boy. In most of the areas surrounding where this article is from, dog bites have nearly doubled in the past 3-5 years.

Again in the UK, a Black Labrador was destroyed after it was found guilty of attacking two children.

City Hall summit in London about the rise in "weapon dogs" on London streets.

Abuse Cases

A Barnesville, GA man was arrested after he abandoned his home an left a 'pit bull' chained on the front porch where the dog starved to death and died.

Positive Press

There are misunderstood dog breeds - -from Dover, NH.

Main Line Animal Rescue is taking its pro-pit bull, anti Michael Vick Message on the road.

Dozens of the 'pit bulls' rescued from the large dog fighting bust in five midwestern states last year were declared fit to go to rescue groups last week and began getting shipped to various rescues across the country. Great video on this one. The resiliency of these dogs to leave horrible situations and to still love and trust people is absolutely amazing - -and is another excellent example of the power of nurture to override nature in canine behavior.

A six year old 'pit bull' service dog in Scandia, MN that has been helping people and changing people's perceptions of the breed is suffering from cancer.

The Dane County, WI Humane Society is encouranging people to adopt pit bulls. "We just treat them like every other dog" they say.

Animal Experts: Pit Bulls the Perfect Pet

Miscellanious

An article about the success of off-leash dog parks in Rhode Island.

Ban bad owners, fix the pit bull problem? A solid editorial from out of Flint, MI.

The Memphis Animal Shelter -- two weeks later

Brighton, CO officers undergo animal training after 2008 dog shooting -- trying to end the senseless killing of pets that often comes when officers don't understand canine behavior.

Blogs/Articles/videos worth reading/watching

A great video on the Denver Pit Bull Ban -- from the folks at Animal Ark.

Lessons from an Andy Warhol Tote Bag - -from Winograd.

While Rome Burns, Emperor Pacelle Strums his Lyre - also from Winograd

The Truth About Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon - -a great look at the history of Skeldon's rein of terror in Lucas County, OH from For the Pit Bulls

Puerto Rico becomes the next to repeal ban on Pit Bulls

2009-11-14T08:31:54-06:00

In 1998, Puerto Rico passed legislation that banned "pit bulls" and "Pit bull mixes" from the island. Earlier this week, they made a major step in repealing the 1998 ban when their legislature passed a bill to repeal this ban. (this article was run through Google Translate, so it's a little rough to read). The bill now just waits final signature from Governor Luis Fortuno.

The removal of the ban was strongly supported by the College of Veterninarians in Puerto Rico as well as the Pit Bull Association of Puerto Rico.

It is estimated 50,00 'pit bulls' currently live in Puerto Rico -- and because of the ban, more than 3,000 were killed in the past 2 years alone.

As people learn more and more about 'pit bulls' and the ineffectiveness of the laws that target them, more and more places are deciding to repeal their bans in favor of more effective (and rational) dangerous dog legislation that targets the dog based on its behavior, not "breed".

Here's a second article, with the same, yet somewhat contradictory numbers (including some different population numbers, which should have translated well).

Congrats to the people and veterinarians in Puerto Rico.

Hat Tip to Jodi at Bless the Bullies on this, which is where I saw the news first.

The Toledo Blade Cartoons On Skeldon

2009-11-13T15:49:06-06:00

The Toledo Blade's editorial cartoonist Kirk Walters has been using his voice to indicate the many wrongs that are taking place currently in the Lucas County Animal Shelter under the leadership of Tom Skeldon.

While the cartoons are funny, they are also a little sad in the truth of the messaging.

You can check them out on the Blade's Website here and here. It is time to end the senseless killing of animals in Toledo.

(Cartoons reposted with permission from Mr. Walters)

Toledo's Tom Skeldon Down, but not out

2009-11-13T11:12:50-06:00

On Tuesday morning, Lucas County officials voted 2-1 to retain the services of Tom Skeldon. While Commissioner Ben Konap brought up the proposal to fire Skeldon because of the city's horrific 13% adoption rate and 77% euthanasia rate, Commissioners Pete Gerken and Tina Skeldon Wozniak (Tom Skeldon's first cousin) voted against the proposal.

Wozniak denied Konap's recommendation that she abstain from the vote because of her close family relationship to Mr. Skeldon. Wozniak is right in that by the letter of the law of the of the Ohio Ethic's commission, she was not officially violating nepotism laws -- but it doesn't remove the reality that she does have a conflict of interest in the debate -- even if not legally. Gerken, to his point, wants to give Skeldon time to implement many of the changes recommended by the dog warden advisory committee before making such a dramatic change -- ignoring that since the report came out, Skeldon has done little more than defend his actions.

The decision has not been greeted warmly by local politicians and the media. State Representative Peter Ujvagi (Democrat, Toledo) said "I think changes need to be made. It's very clear form the documentation of the types of dogs that have been put down that many of those ought to be adoptable."

John Stainbrook, the chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party was particularly distrubed to learn about all the puppies that were being killed in the shelter. "My God, there's puppies being killed. Under what set of circumstances or criteria is it ok to kill a puppy?" he said. "There's definitely some serious questions that need to be answered....the criteria set up to determine whether a dog should live or die needs to be re-examined obviously."

Finally, something Democrats and Republicans can agree on.

Stainbrook and Toledo city councilman Joe McNamara were also critical of Woziak's participation in the vote.

The Toledo Blade had a understandably harsh editorial criticizing the Commissioner's decision to retain Skeldon -- and of Wozniak's participation in the vote. And their political cartoonist has also had a couple of harsh criticisms of Skeldon.

While Skeldon is still in, the Dog Warden Advisory Committee has issued some strict new rules including:

1) Giving vaccinations to most animals prior to entering the shelter

2) Putting all dog photos up on the county web site within 24 hours

3) Suspend the killing of all puppies, including 'pit bull' puppies, unless a licensed vet diagnoses the dog as terminally ill or injured.

4) Seek a grant of funds for DNA testing to determine which dogs are truly 'pit bulls'

All of their recommendations were approved with unanimous votes.

Meanwhile, the Blade has decided to begin running a list of all of the dogs killed, and adopted, from the shelter to be sure people are aware. Today's list of killed animals includes 16 dogss, including some highly adoptable dogs like a Pomeranian mix, a corgie mix, a chihuahua mix and a couple of Labradors.

At this point, there seems to be no evidence that Tom Skeldon is capable, or willing, to make the changes necessary to end the slaughter in his shelter. Hopefully the county commissioners will make a swift decision regarding Skeldon, before thousands more dogs die under Skeldon's watch.

For more info:

For the Pit Bulls: Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon Feeling the Pressure

Post Veterans Day Post

2009-11-12T09:07:03-06:00

I'm a day late, but I found these videos this morning and they're too touching not to post. Over at mental floss, they have a series of youtube videos of dogs greeting their owners when they get back from their service trips. It's pretty touching stuff -- not just on how much these dogs missed their owners, but how much these soldiers missed their dogs.

My thanks to all of the men and women who are actively risking their lives serving our country both here and over seas, and the sacrifices you've made in leaving your families behind.

The "Why Imperative" Of Animal Rescue/Sheltering

2009-11-11T15:21:09-06:00

Marketing guru and author Seth Godin had a great blog posting yesterday entitled "The Why Imperative". Here's a clip:

That's not what we do," is the backbone of strategy, it determines who you are and where you're going.

Except in times of change. Except when opportunities come along. Except when people in the organization forget to ask, "why?"

If the only reason you don't do something is because you never did, that's not a good reason. If the environment has changed dramatically and you are feeling pain because of it, this is a great reason to question yourself, to ask why.

The correlation with animal rescue and sheltering really struck me. It seems that many places do a lot of things (and don't do others) largely because that's how they've always done things -- or because they just don't do it that way.

And by and large, people are so busy to stop and ask "Why?" or "Why not"?

Does your rescue/shelter organization have blanket rules that prevent more animals from being dopted?

Fencing requirements?

Not going to a home with an altered dog?

Not going to homes because they have a same-sex dog?

The dog is going to be a "farm dog"?

The dog owner lives in an apartment?

The potential adopter may not have "enough money" to afford the worst case scenerio for veterinary care -- even if that is likely to never come up?

Have you asked yourself why these exist even though there are many perfectly good homes that would be denied for one or more of these criteria?

Or how about things your organization doesn't do?

Adopt dogs out close to the holidays?

Adopt out black cats close to Halloween?

Hold off-site adoptions in high-traffic locations? Every Day?

Remain open in the evenings, weekends and holidays when people with "day jobs" can easily visit?

Why not?

In the business world, strong businesses are constantly challenging the status quo, looking at what works for other organizations, and changing to take advantage of new opportunities.

In the animal welfare world, we're in the "business" of finding homes for adoptable animals. Are there opportunities out there that we are not taking advantage of that are causing animals to die in our care? Why is your organization not taking advantage of those opportunities?

More places discussing BSL Repeals, and more on Tom Skeldon's Future

2009-11-10T10:28:03-06:00

With the nightmare that so many places have created in large part because of their breed-specific policies, it is a wonder that any city would even consider such a failed approach. But the failures of the ordinances have certainly causing a few places to take a closer look at their BSL and consider potential appeals -- just like Oak Harbor, WA did.

Ontario

In 2003, Ontario became the first major area of Canada to pass a ban on particular breeds of dogs. Next Wednesday, MPP Cheri DiNovo plans to introduce a bill that would keep the Dog Owner's Liability Act with one major change, which is to get rid of the breed-specific part of the ordinance.

Fred over at One Bark at a Time has an exclusive interview with DiNovo (it's a rough audio file, but well worth the time you'd spend listening). In here interview with Fred, she calls the law "ill conceived" talks about the many problems with the law's breed-specific measures including:
1) How the law is being enforced sporadically because of the over-broad definition in the law

2) The difficulty in determining which dogs fit the criteria

3) The unnecessary killing of thousands of healthy, well-behaved animals

She also notes that the breed specific law has not provided more safety to citizens (even citing that bites and deaths have actually gone up since the ordinance was put in place).

DiNovo also did a radio interview with Newstalk1010 that along with the sponsoring of the bill, will play a role in changing public perceptions and educating them about the problems with the breed ban.

If you are in Ontario, you can support her sponsorship of the bill next Wednesday, November 18th at Queen's Park.

Best of luck to Ms. DiNovo and the citizens of Ontario.

Sioux City, IA

Mayor Mike Hobart of Sioux City, IA thinks it's time for the council to tweak the city's controversial dangerous dog law.

The city passed it's dangerous dog law -- which includes a ban on 'pit bulls' -- in March of 2008, and it has been a huge black-eye and distraction for the city. Problems have included:

- animal control actively targeting people who spoke out against the ordinance at city hall

- the local veterinarian community announcing they would not help them with breed identification

-- issues stemming from paperwork people were forced to sign that was forcing them to admit guilt -- a violation of the 5th amendment of the US Constitution

- a city council member's Labrador Retriever biting a jogger, ending up being put on death row, and subsequently getting stolen from the shelter

-- led to a civil suit being filed against the city about the arbitrary nature of the enforcement of the law

-- and led to one of the council members who voted for the law, Jim Rixner, to be voted out of office last week in their most recent election (two others did not seek re-election)

Mayor Hobart said in front of his colleagues, "I have a perspective, having gone through this whole process. I do think there are several tweeks needed."

No timeline is set for when they will discuss, but they did determine to wait until the new council took over. Congrats to the folks in Sioux City for making their voices heard, and counted at the polls.

Toledo

Time might be winding down on Tom Skeldon's deadly reign as Dog Warden in Lucas County. I documented many of Skeldon's failings yesterday, but TODAY, Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop plans to urge his fellow commissioners to either fire, or demote, Skeldon.

"If you're killing innocent dogs, I think that inherently is cause for termination," said Konop.

Konop also called for Tom Skeldon's first cousin, Tina Skeldon Wozniak, who is also on the county commissioners to recuse herself from all future votes involving Mr. Skeldon because he doubted she could maintain impartiality. "Due to the integrity of the process I think she should recuse herself", he said.

Meanwhile, the Toledo Blade, the newspaper of record, had an editorial today encouraging the commission to terminate Skeldon.

End Skeldon's Reign

IF TOM Skeldon were a dog in his own pound, he would have been euthanized a long time ago. No longer a pup, he is obsessive, stubborn, and incapable of learning to modify his behavior, and it is time for the Lucas County commission to end the dog warden's reign of terror so the county can take a new direction in animal control that focuses on saving dogs as well as protecting county residents.

Where is Toledo's heart?

Each day it is more obvious that 22 years as dog warden has closed Mr. Skeldon's mind and narrowed his vision. He pays lip service to new ideas but is incapable of seeing any way other than his way, which is to kill as many dogs as the law allows.

Read the rest here.

And it appears that all of the readers of the Blade agree with their sentiment. It looks like the clock may be ticking for Tom Skeldon.

It should also be noted that Skeldon was one of only a couple of "experts" that were brought in by Michael Bryant to testify in Ontario on behalf of their breed ban in 2003. Meanwhile, Bryant has had his own set of problems.

Oak Harbor, WA Repeals Breed Specific Oridinance

2009-11-09T11:15:38-06:00

In a 6-0 unanimous vote, the city of Oak Harbor, WA voted to repeal their breed-specific ordinance. The city's ordinance, originally passed in 2006, required all 'pit bulls' to be held in a secure pen, be muzzled while on leash, and other restrictions. The vote held last week repeals all breed specific language and is now focused on targeting dogs based on their behavior, not breed. Commissioners hope that the change will decrease the number of these types of dogs that are killed at the shelter.

In August, when the issue first came up for a repeal, the difficulty of enforcement became a major topic of the conversation:

"From an animal control officer's point of view, this is a really difficult issue" said Police Chief Rick Wallace.

The Burden would be on the city to prove any delinquent dog's breed, and that may mean Oak Harbor would have to foot the bill for a doggie DNA test.

From an enforcement point of view, it's almost impossible, Wallace said.

"I don't want this to turn into an emotional thing " City Administrator Paul Schmidt said "We're looking at it strictly as a fact-based issue."

And the fact is, breed determination can be tricky and costly business.

"Our own insurance doesn't recommend BSL," said Schmidt. "We support the behavior based approach."

When you take emotion out of the equation, and base your decision solely based on facts, breed neutral legislation -- that targets aggressive dogs based on behavior, not the way they look - becomes the only logical conclusion. More and more cities like Oak Harbor are realizing this, and bypassing BSL for more effective and enforcable laws, and repealing the ordinances that are already in place. Meanwhile, some who hold onto archaic ideals are being forced out of their positions.

Nice work by the fact-focused administrators in Oak Harbor.

Hat Tip: Stop BSL.

The heat is on Toledo's Tom Skeldon

2009-11-09T09:28:14-06:00

When it rains it pours, and right now, the wave of public discontent with Lucas County Animal control is pouring in on Dog Warden Tom Skeldon.

Yesterday, the Toledo Blade ran multiple articles on the failings of the Lucas County Animal Shelter under Skeldon's watch.

Most of the controversy centers around Lucas County's high kill rate -- according to their own figures, they kill around 77% of the dogs that come into their shelter -- totalling nearly 2500 dogs killed last year and 1848 killed so far this year.

Skeldon has continued to blame 'pit bulls' for the problem with the high kill numbers -- however, records pulled by the Toledo Blade show differently -- in total, 70 different breeds of dogs including 145 Labrador Retrievers and 131 German Shepherds -- and large numbers of Chows, Beagles, Cocker Spaniels, Shar Peis, Chihuahuas, Miniature Pinschers and Jack Russell Terriers. Also 78 puppies under three months of age were among the 1848 dogs killed so far this year.

In total, the adoption rate under Skeldon is an abysmal 13%. In other words, if the dog makes it into the shelter, most likely it is going out the back door, not the front, regardless of what breed it is.

While the County Commissioners are calling for a change, Skeldon seems little prepared to make the sweeping changes necessary. In the article, he calls a large number of the people who don't want animals killed in the shelter a part of the "criminal element" -- including singling out a couple of animal welfare groups that he thinks fit that criteria. He also tries to point out that his job is not to save the lives of animals, but to protect people from dogs -- an archaic view of animal control, and something that he hasn't been successful at either. He also dismissed John Dinon's, the executive director of the Toledo Humane Society, criticism that he was not declaring enough dogs adoptable and allowing them to be pulled by the Humane Society.

Skeldon also scoffed at recommendations to transfer dogs to all-breed rescue groups. "The trouble with multibreed rescue groups is that in the past they wanted to come through and shop and cherry-pick. In other words, they all wanted the sweet little dog. They don't want the bigger, older dog....they assume that they would adopt out more dogs than we do." Um, Tom, you adopt out only 13% of the dogs that come into your shelter. It would be hard to do WORSE than that.

In a second article, the Blade compares Lucas County's euthanasia rates to those of surrounding city shelters -- and it's not pretty.

Wood County's euthanasia rate is 40%.

Monroe County's euthanasia rate is 36%. One way they've improved their numbers is by adopting out 'pit bulls". "We do not judge dogs by their breed. We judge dogs by their behavio," said Monroe County Animal Control Driector Linda Benson. "A bad dog is a bad dog, and it doesn't matter what the breed is. A good dog is a good dog, even if it's a pit bull."

Fulton County's euthanasia rate is about 28%.

Lucas County's is around 77%.

Yes, changes need to be made. And the people who want changes are not criminals Mr. Skeldon, they are people who don't think that every animal that finds its way into the shelter should be killed. And most also agree with Linda Benson - -good dogs are good dogs, regardless of what they happen to look like.

The pressure is mounting on Tom Skeldon. The statistics are not on his side. The letters to the paper keep piling up against him, and the political pressure for the county commissioners to change things is mounting. And the current man in charge is showing no signs of having any desire to make the changes neccessary and demanded by the public.

It's is time for Lucas County to move on and fire Tom Skeldon-- and get an animal control director who is not living in the 1980s and is current with how modern society views animals.