Humane Society Saves Dogs At Northern Ohio Shelter

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Frankie had no idea how close he came to the needle last week.

The black lab mix was one of three dogs on death row, who were given a second chance by the Wood County Humane Society.

Approximately once a month, staff from the humane society visits the Wood County Dog Shelter to see if they can save some canines. They time their visits on Thursday mornings - hours before the weekly euthanasias at the shelter.

So far, all that have been rescued have been adopted out to new homes.

"We come for the ones that are going to be euthanized," explained Jamie Fairbanks, director of the humane society shelter. "We've been coming out as much as we can."

"We like to come out here and save a life," said Erin McKibben, a humane society staff member.

But the humane society cannot save them all. The members can only take as many as they have space for in their kennels.

So last week, they could only take three of the 13 dogs eagerly wagging their tails for attention.

The society members agonized over the decision of which to save.

"It's not hard to pick because you know you are helping those. It's hard to leave others behind," McKibben said.

The dogs are selected due to their planned euthanasia date and their adoptability. For ultimately, the humane society's goal is to find suitable homes for the dogs.

"We kind of try to see their behavior in the kennel," Fairbanks said.

Wood County Dog Warden Rodney Cook helps out by sharing the dogs' personalities.

"He's a sweetheart," Cook said, pointing to the black lab.

The county dog shelter has a very strong record of returning lost dogs to their old homes and finding new homes for others. So Cook sees the humane society's rescues as another tool to help the canines.

"If they can find homes for them better than we can, that's great," he said.

Because of the numbers of dogs picked up by or deserted at the dog shelter, the canines are kept just an average of two weeks before they are euthanized. Some, that the staff members think are highly adoptable, are kept longer in hopes of finding homes for them.

But dogs like Frankie, no matter how sweet, don't stand much of a chance.

"There are black labs all over the place," Cook said, noting four in the kennels that morning.

While docile Frankie was an easy choice, the next two selections were tougher. The German Shepherd mix had a nice temperament, but was older than most people want to adopt. The dog did her best to convince McKibben, by licking her as she scratched behind the dog's ear.

"She is friendly," McKibben said, but noticeably smelly like a skunk.

"I think she needs a bath and good brush," Fairbanks said.

Then came the toughest part, choosing the last dog to be rescued.

"You pick the last one, it's too hard for me," Fairbanks said.

The hound mix was a possibility. But its graying hair and bad teeth would make it hard to find an adopting family.

Then there was another hound mix that was wonderful with adults, but not with children. Again, hard to adopt out.

The weight of her decision was heavy on McKibben, who teared up at leaving some of the dogs behind.

Finally, the humane society workers settled on a wiggling hound mix.

"You're coming with us. Are you excited?" McKibben asked the dog, which responded by wagging its entire body.