ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners on Thursday advertised for a new kennel manager to work at the dog shelter.
The position became available when commissioners fired Patricia Hootman on Oct. 10, who had been at the job since January.
Commissioners promoted Shannon Hamilton as the interim kennel manager, with a $2-per-hour raise, on Oct. 17.
Nikki Hiller, the commissioners’ office clerk, said commissioners finished the new job description on Thursday. She plans on posting the job on various job boards and office will accept applications through Dec. 12.
The job description does not specify the position’s pay rate, but officials have said the job could start at $14 per hour. The job description lists responsibilities and qualifications.
Some of the main responsibilities include training, managing, hiring and firing other kennel workers, according to the job description.
The new kennel manager will also be expected to oversee the shelter’s volunteer program, which includes the dismissal of volunteers when deemed appropriate.
Other duties include cleaning cages and feeding and watering dogs.
Another duty involves “vaccinating and euthanizing dogs as needed, along with managing the health and well being of all animals in your care.”
Tumultuous times
The dog shelter has experienced turbulence in its first year of operation.
Issues stem from a controversial euthanasia policy that county commissioners adopted at the onset of 2024 and later revisited after being pressured to do so by dog lovers and other advocates.
One of the rules surrounding euthanasia, later revised, stated “dogs that have been at the shelter for more than one year will be euthanized.”
At the time, the policy — enacted Jan. 11 as part of a new 29-page handbook entitled the Ashland County Dog Shelter Rules and Regulations — caused an uproar from people who worried 12 dogs at the shelter would be killed shortly after the policy’s ratification.
Mass euthanasia didn’t happen. Instead, commissioners vowed to update the rule through input received by an advisory committee that met several times earlier this year.
On Oct. 25, commissioners approved updated language in the handbook. Chief among the changes was the euthanasia policy. The updated policy now includes specifics around the criteria used to determine when a stray is to be put down.
Those include severe illness or injury, behavioral issues, quality of life and “overpopulation and resource constraints.” (The shelter can hold 51 dogs at one time.)