HOWLAND — The number of stray and abandoned dogs going through the Trumbull County Dog Pound has increased steadily over the last several years, according to Trumbull County Dog Pound’s Executive Director Michelle Goss.

The rising costs are straining the pound’s ability to operate, so Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder and Goss are now working together to alleviate the issues.

The pound had approximately 586 dogs sent through it in 2023. Trumbull’s Dog Pound, 7501 Anderson Ave., is an old garage that was converted into its current makeup.

It has one office where the public meets with pound officials, a small private office for Goss and other employees and an area with 14 kennel cages where the dogs are kept.

The number of dogs that go through the pound has increased each year since 2021. There were 412 in 2021 and 542 in 2022.

Indoor kennels are regularly filled. During an average month, Goss said the pound houses 30 dogs.

“During the colder winter months, when it is over capacity, the Animal Welfare League allows us to send up to 10 dogs to be housed indoors at a cost of $13 per dog, per day,” Goss said.

The pound also has outdoor cages that are not used during the winter, due to local regulations requiring dogs to be housed indoors whenever there is a weather advisory.

“The cost of everything has gone up,” Yoder said. “It costs more to maintain this building, provide food for the dogs and maintain staff.”

RENEWING LICENSES

During the last month-and-a-half, county officials have encouraged dog owners to either buy or renew licenses for their pets during the annual license renewal period.

The deadline to purchase dog licenses in Trumbull County is Jan. 31. It costs about $18 per year for all dogs over 3 months old. The cost for licenses purchased after Jan. 31, increases to $36, which includes late fees.

Yoder, however, will be requesting that Trumbull County commissioners extend the deadline to Feb. 29.

Yoder has been encouraging dog owners to get licenses for their pets by having raffles in which pet owners who purchased dog licenses during December could win a license for 2025. She will continue having these raffles over the next several months.

Dog owners may purchase one-year, three-year or lifetime licenses. Three-year licenses can be purchased for $54 and permanent tags can be purchased for $180.

Licenses can be purchased at the Trumbull County Auditor’s office in the Trumbull County Administration Building, 160 High St., in Warren, as well as 20 other locations throughout Trumbull County.

The county has seen the number of dog licenses sold decline from 18,207 in 2019 to 15,432 in 2023.

Money earned from the sale of dog licenses has fluctuated over the last five years from $381,968 in 2018 to $322,768 in 2019. It then increased to $415,517.50 in 2020 before falling to $318,009 in 2021 and again in 2022 to $300,279.30. In 2023, it increased to $359,189.48.

Since December, there have been 3,200 dog licenses sold for 2024.

In addition to the funds the dog pound receives from license sales, the pound was provided $50,000 from the commissioners to balance its budget in 2021. It also received $175,000 in 2022 and $240,000 in 2023.

“This is not something that is only happening in Trumbull County,” Yoder said. “Mahoning County Commissioners also had to increase the amount it provided to its pound.”

IN NEED OF HELP

Trumbull County’s Dog Pound currently has six full-time employees, as well as 20 volunteers who regularly help to take care of animals. There are more than 100 other volunteers who assist the pound on a less frequent basis.

“The cost of everything has gone up,” Goss noted. “Basic expenses, including the cost of food, water and maintaining the pound’s property has increased.”

Basic operational costs needed to operate the pound, including employee salaries and benefits, maintaining the building, etc., increased from $368,906 in 2018 to $573,405 in 2023.

Yoder said people wanting to provide additional financial assistance should contact the pound directly. Donations of food, blankets and toys may be sent to the pound or taken to the auditor’s office.

“People often see advertisements asking for money to help dogs, but none of that money is sent to local pounds and non-profits,” she said. “If you want to help address issues happening here, contact local organizations.”

The use of volunteers and donations has helped the pound to keep its costs down.

Goss noted that it is very common in Ohio for people who find lost dogs to foster them at their homes until more permanent homes are found.

“We do everything we can to get our dogs to homes with families,” Goss said. “Dogs adopted through the pound are all spayed and neutered before they are adopted.”

A non-profit volunteer organization called Voices of the Trumbull Pound Dog earned more than $100,000 from grants, fundraisers and donations and provided it to the pound to be used for a variety of projects.

Toni Libbey, one of the founding members of Voices of the Trumbull Pound Dog, described its members as people who want to help the dogs at the pound.

“We want the dogs to have space to be neutered and have access to medical care, such as heartworm treatments,” Libbey said. “We do not want to see dogs killed because there is no access to treatments.”

A portion of the funds the group has earned is being used to pay for the 10 indoor kennels being provided by the AWL.

THE POUND’S FUTURE

Trumbull County Commissioners are expected to build a new pound on just over three acres of land in Vienna, which is being donated by the Animal Welfare League. The size of the new building is expected to be at least double the size of the current facility.

Goss hopes the new pound will have up to 40 indoor kennels in it, as well as an indoor meet and greet room, quarantine area, intake room, bathing area, medical room, laundry room, employee desk space and break area. There also will be an outdoor play area.

Initial costs of the new facility will be supplemented by a $209,598 donation from Curtis Quiggle, who last January left the money for the pound in his estate. The 64-year-old former West Farmington resident died in 2022.

“He loved dogs,” Goss said. “He appreciated what we are doing.”

The county is expected to take control of the acres being provided by the AWL later this month. At that point, the county will be able to hire an architect to do the preliminary drawings for the new facility.

PROVIDING A HELPING HAND

Problems facing the county dog pound would be worse if there were no other organizations, such as Trumbull’s Animal Welfare League and Healthy Hearts and Paws, which also take in animals that the pound does not have room to house.

The AWL investigates reports of animal abuse. It conducted 1,675 humane investigation calls in 2020; 1,834 calls in 2021 and 2,007 calls in 2022. The AWL also treats injured and sick animals.

Commissioners provided $250,000 from its American Rescue Plan funds to the AWL, because, like the pound, it has been experiencing rising costs of its basic services.

Healthy Hearts and Paws Project, a five-year-old nonprofit now operating in Brookfield, will be opening a new facility in Warren. The nonprofit began in 2019 and addressed the needs of dogs and cats that had heartworm problems.

“Over time, the mission expanded to address the medical care of dogs and cats,” Jason Cooke, the organization’s founder, said. “This year has been the worst start I’ve seen in terms of the numbers of dogs and cats needing help.

“We’ve been operating in an over-capacity status.”

Cooke has been operating the non-profit out of his home. It has about 60 dogs at the Brookfield site and another 40 dogs being fostered at the homes of other community residents.

“On any given day, we may have more than 100 dogs and 13 cats being cared for,” Cooke said.

The nonprofits’ new home is projected to be 6,400-square feet. It will house both dogs and cats.

Healthy Hearts and Paws received $50,000 in ARP funding through the city of Warren for kennels and concrete pads.

rsmith@tribtoday.com