ASHLAND — The Ashland County Dog Warden has resigned after three years at the post.
Joe Eggerton, 53, of Perrysville left the post on Thursday, leaving behind a staff of two full-time and three part-time employees and a new facility filled with strays officials have struggled to adopt.
On May 20, Eggerton received a letter from the commissioners’ office that outlined four violations and set a pre-disciplinary meeting in executive session for Thursday morning.
By the end of that meeting, Eggerton resigned and an Ashland County Sheriff’s Office deputy transported him to the shelter to collect his belongings and say goodbye to the staff there.
Commissioners Jim Justice and Denny Bittle did not provide details on Eggerton’s resignation.
“It was just — it wasn’t working out well for each one of us. I think it was time,” Bittle said, adding the departure was mutual.
Eggerton did not write or submit a resignation letter. He did not characterize the departure as “mutual.”
“They gave me the option to resign or they would look at other avenues. I took it to mean they would fire me. So I resigned,” Eggerton said.
Ashland Source received a copy of Eggerton’s personnel file after a public records request. Its contents shed light on the resignation.
What happened?
The May 20 letter Eggerton received leveled four disciplinary allegations against him, and cited specific policies found in the Ashland County Dog Shelter Rules and Regulations — a 29-page document approved by commissioners in January.
The first involved failure “to conduct weekly random license checks as required on page 12 of the Ashland County Dog Shelter Rules and Regulations, and despite having been verbally instructed to do so.”
The second alleged violation stated he had permitted unauthorized staff to handle monetary transactions, violating page 8 of the policies and procedures handbook.
The letter also stated Eggerton had failed to compile monthly reports on dog shelter activities, as required in the policies and procedures handbook.
It also alleged the dog warden hadn’t completed dog bite reports in a timely fashion.
“Despite telling commissioners and their staff that you are busy investigating dog bite reports, only three dog bite reports have been submitted to the commissioners’ office since January 2024,” according to the letter.
Response to first allegation
Eggerton said he had been checking dog tags.
“Every time I get a complaint about a dog at large, I got the name, the address and who might own it,” he said, adding this was a daily task. “And then I’d go ahead and pull to see if they have a license.”
Eggerton said he tried to explain, but that his explanation was interpreted as an excuse by the commissioners.
Response to second allegation
On letting unauthorized staff handle monetary transactions, Eggerton said he allowed the kennel manager use the credit card on occasion if it made sense when he was unavailable.
“They were upset because the kennel manager had to pick something up,” he said. Eggerton said that whenever something like that happened, the receipts would always be turned in to the commissioners.
“But I was told we weren’t following the new policy,” he said.
The new policy states, in part, “only authorized staff are permitted to handle monetary transactions.”
The commissioners May 20 letter stated Eggerton had been “verbally instructed that nobody but you should be permitted to use the dog shelter’s credit card” and that “you have permitted others to use the card.
“Further, you have submitted reimbursement requests for expenses incurred by others for dog shelter purchases, after having been verbally instructed that employees should not be permitted to make purchases in that manner,” the letter reads.
Eggerton insisted all purchases were legitimate.
“Nobody stole anything,” he said, adding the kennel manager used the card at times to purchase items when he wasn’t available. And the receipts from those purchases were always filed with the commissioners.
Response to third allegation
Eggerton acknowledged the policy handbook requires a monthly report. But, he contended, the policy does not specify what kind of report.
“A complete Dog & Kennel Monthly Report is to be compiled each month that reflects all activities at the Ashland County Dog Shelter,” reads the policy passed in January.
He said the shelter’s office manager provided reports that outlined payments and receipts and donations on a regular basis. He thought that was enough.
“Apparently it wasn’t,” he said.
Eggerton didn’t ask for clarification because he expected a meeting with commissioners to happen shortly after it passed in January to discuss the new policies and procedures.
That meeting never happened, in part because of the public outcry over a new euthanasia rule that required dogs to be put down once they’ve been housed at the shelter for more than a year.
Response to fourth allegation
On filing bite reports, Eggerton said he didn’t understand the type of bite report commissioners requested. He thought they wanted reports of dogs that bit volunteers and staff at the dog shelter.
“Because that involved workers’ compensation — so I assumed that’s what they were referring to. But no, if we got a call about a bite, they wanted a copy of that report. I never sent that because they never specified that,” Eggerton said.
When asked, Eggerton acknowledged he never asked for clarity regarding that distinction.
Dog bites are lumped into “mammal” bites and filed with the Ashland County Health Department. In 2023, there were 85 dog bites reported, according to health department records.
Eggerton had filed three bite reports since January.
He said commissioners requested those bite reports about a month ago, after he hadn’t filed any. He said he worked to compile the reports, but that there is a delay on when those reports are available because of a mandated quarantine period, triggered when a bite breaks skin or draws blood.
“I was trying to compile them without doing overtime,” he said. “Also, there is private information on those reports. Why do the commissioners need it?”
Overall, Eggerton said he felt like the commissioners were micromanaging the dog shelter.
“It’s messy,” he said. “I really hope it gets better. It’s just not fair to everyone involved. I wish them the best — I really do. It’s a beautiful facility. But beauty doesn’t make it run well.”
Financial troubles
Eggerton’s resignation came days after the commissioners’ transfer of $130,251 meant to keep the dog shelter operational. Commissioners have said the large transfer was needed because of this year’s lack of dog license renewals, higher utility bills and higher wages to the shelter’s shortfall.
Yearly financial boosts to the shelter from the county general fund is typical. Records show commissioners had transferred an average of $39,500 yearly since 2019.
Even still, the large transfer made commissioners and the Ashland County auditor concerned.
“We’re already in April and you’re already saying you need $130,000? … That’s a lot more money,” said Cindy Funk, the county’s auditor.
Justice shared a similar sentiment when he said “we need to make some changes to make sure that things happen so we can more easily break even” at the dog shelter.
County records show there are 943 dog licenses that have not been renewed for 2024. It means there’s a $33,948 shortfall, because each one-year license costs $18 and each renewal would be charged another $18 fee for a total of $36.
Utility bills — including water, electricity and natural gas — have increased by 93% since last June, records reflect. Those costs are paid for by the county’s general fund.
Eggerton, who was paid $38,272 in 2023, said he understood the commissioners’ concerns over finances.
“We’ve been doing everything we can to keep the expenses down,” he said. For example, he said, his staff has turned off lights throughout the building during daylight hours to conserve electricity costs.
Eggerton said it makes sense to have higher utility bills with a larger building.
‘Trashing Denny Bittle’
Eggerton said commissioners also confronted him about what they perceived as “trashing (Commissioner) Denny Bittle.”
Whenever there was a complaint from volunteers or other stakeholders, Eggerton was told to defer those with concerns to Bittle.
Ashland County Commissioner Denny Bittle
“And then (Bittle) would just say, ‘We’ll work it out,’” he said. “And so, yeah, there was one time I was frustrated and I vented. Well, I guess they saw that as me trashing (Bittle). I wasn’t trashing him, I was just frustrated I couldn’t give people answers.”
When asked about this, Bittle declined to comment.
“I can’t comment a whole lot because a lot was discussed during executive session,” Bittle said. “It just wasn’t working out for both of us. I can’t comment on any discussions that went on.”
Eggerton’s history with the dog shelter
Eggerton was first hired at the shelter as a hybrid part-time kennel worker and deputy dog warden in June 2018.
Commissioners promoted him to full-time dog warden in February 2021, replacing Tom Kosht, according to his personnel file with the county.
He received regular pay raises, along with a certificate from the U.S. Humane Society on animal cruelty investigations training.
In March 2022, the commissioners established new rules surrounding on-call overtime, mandated 30-minute lunch breaks and rules about requesting leave time.
The new rule, in part, stated full- and part-time employees must report to the shelter to clock in. “Employees who fail to clock in may be disciplined or may have hours reduced later in the pay period so as not to incur overtime, or both,” the rule states.
Employees are also required to “call a member of this Board to get permission to go on call.”
“On-call overtime is to be used for emergencies only, such as a dog bite,” the rule reads.
Regarding leave time, including vacation, sick and personal time, employees are required to fill out a form and file it with the commissioners’ office. “Otherwise, we will think you don’t want paid for the time you missed.”
In September of the same year, Eggerton received a written warning for not being “physically present at the Dog Shelter by 8 a.m. on workdays.” The warning came after he purportedly ignored the commissioners’ instruction.
The warning is the only record of discipline on file, not counting the letter he received on May 20.
The search for a new dog warden begins
Justice and Bittle said the commissioners office will advertise for the position as soon as possible.
In the meantime, the sheriff’s office will field calls for vicious dog calls, Bittle said.