Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon submitted a letter of resignation today.
Skeldon's official last day will be January 31st, 2010 -- however, most of that time will be using some of his accrued vacation time. His last day in the office will be December 31st, 2009.
The announcement comes nine days after Commissioner Ben Konop offically announced a proposal to fire Skeldon -- and proposal that was voted against by the other two commissioners Pete Gerken and Skeldon's 1st Counsin Tina Skeldon Wozniak.
Skeldon has been coming under increased fire over the past year. Most of the roll against Skeldon began last winter afterone of Skeldon's staff shot a tranquilizer into a small dog that was "loose" on his own porch -- with enough of a dosage that the dog died.
As people began investigating Skeldon, they found the shelter to continue to operate with a very high kill rate (77%) and an extremely low 13% adoption rate. They found a dog warden that was unwilling to work with rescue groups. And dogs were dying.
A committee was assembled to provide recommendations on improvements to be made at the shelter -- improvements that Skeldon, throughout, has been reluctant to even admit were problems. The Toledo Blade continue to run editorials and editorial cartoons calling for Skeldon's dismissal. The committee recommended some strict new rules last week one of which was to cease the killing of puppies. Skeldon responded by killing 10 healthy puppies after holding them for only one day.
Konap responded to the killing yesterday by saying. "It makes me physically ill to think the county is in some sense sanctioning this behavior. There is no excuse for this. To me, it shows beyond a reasonable doubt why there needs to be changes in leadership at the dog warden....I can't imagine any logical reason to kill 10 healthy, non-"pit bull" puppies in less than 24 hours after they were turned in. It's disgusting."
Indeed.
And under the mounting pressure, Skeldon resigned. And soon, the citizens of Toledo will get a new dog warden -- and hopefully one that doesn't think killing is a major part of his job description.
Last week, in the wake of the reality that Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon is a dog killer, The Toledo Blade has begun reporting a listing of all dogs adopted, and all dogs killed, at the Lucas County shelter at least until changes are made in the shelter. From the 11/14 report, which features 17 dogs killed, and 4 adopted, it seems that little is being done in the short term to bring an end to shelter killing.
But it is a dog on the 11/13 report that caught the eye of one of my readers in the comment section, that is th inspiration for the blog posting. Here's the part of the report:
Dogs Killed
"Pit bull," tan/white young female "with pink toe nail polish," North University, Toledo, running at large, no muzzle
Reading this can't help but break your heart. Obviously, this dog was someone's dog. Clearly behind the scenes here was an owner that cared dearly about their dog....they loved the dog so much they POLISHED HER TOENAILS. This isn't some inner city dog fighter like Tom Skeldon would have you believe is the "typical" pit bull owner and why he needs a ban. It was a caring person, who clearly had a connection with their dog.
Somehow, the dog got free (which anyone who owns a dog can tell you, can happen, even to a responsible owner), ended up in the animal shelter, and killed.
Now, most shelters would have workers and volunteers who are compassionate about animals. They would see this dog, realize the dog had an owner, and work their butts off to find that owner. They would post flyers in the North University area. They would talk to neighbors (I mean, come on, someone HAS to know the owner of the pit bull that polishes their toenails) and would work to find the owner who loved this dog. But this was in Toledo, where only 13% of the dogs make it out alive, and thus, the dog is dead.
But then that got me thinking, what about the dogs in shelters across the U.S. that have owners, but aren't wearing pink toenail polish?
Dogs can get loose for a variety of reasons. Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I were out hiking and at the trail head, this dog came up to us. We pet the dog and checked out his collar -- his name was Huck. We have Huck some of our peanut butter sandwhich, a couple of carrots and a little drink of water. Huck was a little dirty and we couldn't find an owner, anywhere. We called the phone number on his tag and no one answered. We decided that most likely someone was looking for the dog and that we would leave him there. If Huck was there when we finished the hike, then we'd start searching for his owners.
We later met a woman on the trail, who was a little frantic that her dog had somehow wandered off while they were out hiking together and she didn't know where he went. I assume Huck and his owner were reunited.
But the moral of the story is, this was a caring owner, who was taking their dog out hiking, and the dog got loose. It happens. And the dog, gone from his owner for no more than a couple of hours had found water and mud and had gotten dirty. He looked a little disheveled.
But what would have happened if Huck had made it to a shelter and somehow lost his tags? Would the shelter have assumed that he was abandoned out in the woods? Would they have assumed that he was homeless because he was so dirty? Would they have assumed that the owner was not caring and irresponsible for letting their dog run free? Or ould they have busted their butts to try to find Huck's human hiking companion?
I guess my point is that a lot of dogs that find their way into the shelter are owned dogs. They have owners who love them, care about them, and sometimes paint their toenails pink. But what if their toenails aren't pink? What if the signs of ownership are not as obvious and the dog is a little dirty. Do we assume the dog is a stray? Or assume the dog is lost? And what resources do we put into finding the dog's home vs finding the dog a new home?
Do we think lost, not stray, even when the dog does not wear pink toenail polish or have other obvious signs of being owned? We should.
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)
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
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.
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.
