Lake County announces Humane Society partnership, vet schedule for county dog shelter

County Administrator Jason Boyd told the board the county will begin a formal partnership with the Lake Humane Society and other partners to improve operations at the Lake County dog shelter, including temperament assessments, weekly heartworm testing and enhanced enrichment for animals at the facility.

"Beginning next week, we're gonna have a formal relationship/partnership with Humane Society to help evaluate animals in our shelter, help us train our staff a little bit better, to help assess animals for anxiety, stress, [and] the temperament of the dogs using the SAFER assessment method," Jason Boyd said. He said the county has discussed spay/neuter support with PetFix Northeast Ohio and intends to bring animals bound for adoption to a vet as soon as possible.

Shelter staff and commissioners discussed kennel temperatures, low current shelter population counts and the schedule for veterinary care. A staff speaker noted a scheduled "vet day" the next day to ensure all animals on site have been seen by a veterinarian. Boyd and others emphasized that volunteer access will be phased in given liability and revised-code constraints and said volunteer roles will likely focus on socialization and enrichment once onboarding and controls are in place.

Commissioners thanked shelter staff and consultants for recent work and praised the speed of recent operational improvements. The board asked for continued updates and clarified that many operational steps will be taken within the constraints of existing code and available staffing.