Dear Officials of Summit County/Akron:

I respectfully ask for your intervention at Summit County, Ohio Animal Shelter. Long-standing conditions that fail to meet even minimal animal welfare standards have recently grown worse.

In early November 2005, shelter director Anthony Moore injected 2 ccs of sodium pentobarbital into each of 18 dogs, some of whom weighed up to 100pounds. This dosage is clearly under the 1 cc per 10 pounds of body weight mandatory for humane euthanasia. Licensed veterinarian Bob Rogers, DVM, has agreed to sign a notarized statement attesting to the deficient quantity of sodium pentobarbital used to induce death.

Undoubtedly, some (if not all) of the dogs regained consciousness while trapped inside a freezer. It is difficult to imagine their pain and fear as they slowly froze to death. The fact a "shelter" is responsible for this act of animal cruelty is particularly appalling.

I call upon each of you, within your sphere of influence, to initiate a full investigation of animal mistreatment allegations at Summit County Animal Shelter. I urge you to advocate prosecution to the maximum extent under the law for all culpable parties.

An animal's unwanted status makes him or her no less vulnerable to abuse. Yet Summit County shelter workers seem to view their four-legged charges as inanimate objects. Over an 18-month span, at least 53 dogs and cats wound up dead in cages. Witnesses have described cleaning chemicals splashed on dogs, cat bowls encrusted with mold, and ailing animals left to die. Dogs languish in cubicle cages more than 23 hours a day with no exposure to fresh air or sunlight.

They are confined with only one meal per day due to insufficient staff to clean cages if fed twice, according to a pound worker's statement. Ohio Revised Code stipulates animals subsist no longer than 13 hours between feedings. It also specifies a Warden as the only employee who may authorize a dog's euthanasia before the three-day hold period ends. Supervisor Craig Stanley has ordered euthanasia in violation of this Code.

Almost one-third of the shelter's cats and kittens are destroyed within 24hours. The space reserved to annually kill 5,000 animals does not even have a euthanasia table, so animals die on a concrete floor. Under the current supervision of county employee Craig Stanley, the Summit County Animal Shelter has become notorious for inhumane euthanasia, erroneous record keeping, poor sanitation, and mass killings. 

I hope you will do everything possible to overhaul this facility and replace current staff with qualified, responsive professionals from animal welfare, shelter, or veterinary backgrounds. Please take immediate action to stop the abuse and neglect of companion animals inside Summit County Animal Shelter.

Thank you,