'Dream project.' Future Stark County dog pound renovation aims to expand outdoor space
CANTON − The Stark County dog pound is getting a refresh of its outdoor space.
Stark County commissioners have agreed to proceed with a project to renovate the exterior kennel runs to solve drainage issues and a mud problem.
The current outdoor space consists of six kennel runs that each have a covered cement area and an open grass area. Employees have constructed a temporary fence to try to keep the dogs out of the muddy grass area.
"We know how dogs love mud, so that tracks back into your facility," Major C.J. Stantz said. "The hope is it'll all be cement, there will be no mud the dogs can get into and all the drainage under there will be updated, so you don't have the water runoff that's laying up against your building."
The new outdoor area will be covered to protect from the elements with more space to hold more dogs at a time. The drainage will be redone, and the kennel runs will be fully concrete with artificial grass.
Melissa Loomis, an employee at the pound, said this renovation is her "dream project." In addition to expanding the outdoor space to get more dogs outside at a time, she said the renovation will also make the area safer for the dogs.
One such safety concern happened over the weekend, when a dog tried to climb the fence separating the kennel runs and got its collar caught on the top.
"He almost hung himself," she said. "The new fences will go all the way up, and we won't have accidents like that anymore."
The Friends of the Pound, the volunteer, nonprofit organization that supports the dog warden division, donated $22,000 to get architectural estimates and have a rendering made. The architect estimated the cost at just under $500,000, but that figure could change when the project goes out for bid.
The Friends of the Pound has also set aside $35,000 to contribute to the project. The rest will be covered through fundraising, donations and the Sheriff's Office's capital project funds.
The facility houses an average of 50 dogs on any given day. Sheriff George Maier said the outdoor expansion will make a big difference.
"Every day we bring the dogs out and exercise them. We have countless volunteers that help do that," he said. "To get out of the kennel ... it helps us calm them and learn a little bit more about the dog, it helps us [when we go to] adopt the dog out."
Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or gspringer@gannett.com. Follow her on X @GraceSpringer16.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County dog pound in Canton to be renovated
