CIRCLEVILLE, OH (WCMH) — Nearly a decade ago, 80 percent of the dogs that came into the Pickaway County Dog Shelter were euthanized.
Years later, along with a new shelter built in 2009 and a certain dog warden, that percentage has dropped down to less than 1 percent.
“You have to make a commitment not to euthanize,” said Chief Dog Warden Marc Rogols. “If you’re dog a lover you just want to do it.”
Rogols said out of nearly 400 dogs brought into the shelter last year, only two needed to be euthanized.
Since he became the chief dog warden four years ago, the shelter’s euthanasia rate has gone from 40 percent to 0.5 percent.
“In my opinion, the shelter needed reorganized,” said Rogols. “I built essentially, a mini-patrol post and the Highway Patrol taught me well.”
Rogols served 28 years for the Ohio State Highway Patrol. He retired in 2006.
Last year, he won the 2017 Ohio County Dog Warden Association’s Dog Warden of the Year, but credits his staff and the local non-profit Partners for Paws for the shelter’s success.
“We’ve done surgeries. We’ve corrected hips and dogs that have been hit by cars that normally, probably without Partners for Paws, the support agency, would’ve had to been put down,” he said.
Rogols said they will only put a dog down for two reasons: terminal illness or irreversible aggression. Not knowing who may be coming in through their doors, he said he knows his euthanasia rate can rise at any time.
“If we save every dog we can save, we put down only the ones that are necessary, then we’ve done it right, no matter what the percentage is,” he said. “We have a motto here, treat the dogs as pets rather than forgotten animals…and you find them the best home that you can.”
Partners for Paws raised nearly $40,000 last year to help cover costs for the shelter. Click here for information on how to donate.
