KC DOG BLOG

Tom Skeldon Resigns as Lucas County Dog Warden

Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon submitted a letter of resignation today.

Skeldon's official last day will be January 31st, 2010 -- however, most of that time will be using some of his accrued vacation time. His last day in the office will be December 31st, 2009.

The announcement comes nine days after Commissioner Ben Konop offically announced a proposal to fire Skeldon -- and proposal that was voted against by the other two commissioners Pete Gerken and Skeldon's 1st Counsin Tina Skeldon Wozniak.

Skeldon has been coming under increased fire over the past year.  Most of the roll against Skeldon began last winter afterone of Skeldon's staff shot a tranquilizer into a small dog that was "loose" on his own porch -- with enough of a dosage that the dog died.

As people began investigating Skeldon, they found the shelter to continue to operate with a very high kill rate (77%) and an extremely low 13% adoption rate. They found a dog warden that was unwilling to work with rescue groups. And dogs were dying.

A committee was assembled to provide recommendations on improvements to be made at the shelter -- improvements that Skeldon, throughout, has been reluctant to even admit were problems.  The Toledo Blade continue to run editorials and editorial cartoons calling for Skeldon's dismissal.  The committee recommended some strict new rules last week one of which was to cease the killing of puppies.   Skeldon responded by killing 10 healthy puppies after holding them for only one day.

Konap responded to the killing yesterday by saying. "It makes me physically ill to think the county is in some sense sanctioning this behavior. There is no excuse for this. To me, it shows beyond a reasonable doubt why there needs to be changes in leadership at the dog warden....I can't imagine any logical reason to kill 10 healthy, non-"pit bull" puppies in less than 24 hours after they were turned in. It's disgusting."

Indeed.

And under the mounting pressure, Skeldon resigned. And soon, the citizens of Toledo will get a new dog warden -- and hopefully one that doesn't think killing is a major part of his job description.

Pink Toenail Polish

Last week, in the wake of the reality that Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon is a dog killer, The Toledo Blade has begun reporting a listing of all dogs adopted, and all dogs killed, at the Lucas County shelter at least until changes are made in the shelter. From the 11/14 report, which features 17 dogs killed, and 4 adopted, it seems that little is being done in the short term to bring an end to shelter killing.

But it is a dog on the 11/13 report that caught the eye of one of my readers in the comment section, that is th inspiration for the blog posting.  Here's the part of the report:

Dogs Killed

"Pit bull," tan/white young female "with pink toe nail polish," North University, Toledo, running at large, no muzzle

Reading this can't help but break your heart. Obviously, this dog was someone's dog. Clearly behind the scenes here was an owner that cared dearly about their dog....they loved the dog so much they POLISHED HER TOENAILS.  This isn't some inner city dog fighter like Tom Skeldon would have you believe is the "typical" pit bull owner and why he needs a ban. It was a caring person, who clearly had a connection with their dog.

Somehow, the dog got free (which anyone who owns a dog can tell you, can happen, even to a responsible owner), ended up in the animal shelter, and killed.

Now, most shelters would have workers and volunteers who are compassionate about animals. They would see this dog, realize the dog had an owner, and work their butts off to find that owner. They would post flyers in the North University area. They would talk to neighbors (I mean, come on, someone HAS to know the owner of the pit bull that polishes their toenails) and would work to find the owner who loved this dog.  But this was in Toledo, where only 13% of the dogs make it out alive, and thus, the dog is dead.

But then that got me thinking, what about the dogs in shelters across the U.S. that have owners, but aren't wearing pink toenail polish?

Dogs can get loose for a variety of reasons. Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I were out hiking and at the trail head, this dog came up to us. We pet the dog and checked out his collar -- his name was Huck. We have Huck some of our peanut butter sandwhich, a couple of carrots and a little drink of water. Huck was a little dirty and we couldn't find an owner, anywhere. We called the phone number on his tag and no one answered. We decided that most likely someone was looking for the dog and that we would leave him there. If Huck was there when we finished the hike, then we'd start searching for his owners.

We later met a woman on the trail, who was a little frantic that her dog had somehow wandered off while they were out hiking together and she didn't know where he went. I assume Huck and his owner were reunited.

But the moral of the story is, this was a caring owner, who was taking their dog out hiking, and the dog got loose.  It happens. And the dog, gone from his owner for no more than a couple of hours had found water and mud and had gotten dirty. He looked a little disheveled.

But what would have happened if Huck had made it to a shelter and somehow lost his tags? Would the shelter have assumed that he was abandoned out in the woods?  Would they have assumed that he was homeless because he was so dirty?  Would they have assumed that the owner was not caring and irresponsible for letting their dog run free?  Or ould they have busted their butts to try to find Huck's human hiking companion?

I guess my point is that a lot of dogs that find their way into the shelter are owned dogs. They have owners who love them, care about them, and sometimes paint their toenails pink. But what if their toenails aren't pink? What if the signs of ownership are not as obvious and the dog is a little dirty. Do we assume the dog is a stray?  Or assume the dog is lost?  And what resources do we put into finding the dog's home vs finding the dog a new home?

Do we think lost, not stray, even when the dog does not wear pink toenail polish or have other obvious signs of being owned?  We should.

The Toledo Blade Cartoons On Skeldon

The Toledo Blade's editorial cartoonist  Kirk Walters has been using his voice to indicate the many wrongs that are taking place currently in the Lucas County Animal Shelter under the leadership of Tom Skeldon.

While the cartoons are funny, they are also a little sad in the truth of the messaging.

 You can check them out on the Blade's Website here and here.  It is time to end the senseless killing of animals in Toledo.

(Cartoons reposted with permission from Mr. Walters)

Toledo's Tom Skeldon Down, but not out

On Tuesday morning, Lucas County officials voted 2-1 to retain the services of Tom Skeldon.  While Commissioner Ben Konap brought up the proposal to fire Skeldon because of the city's horrific 13% adoption rate and 77% euthanasia rate, Commissioners Pete Gerken and Tina Skeldon Wozniak (Tom Skeldon's first cousin) voted against the proposal.

Wozniak denied Konap's recommendation that she abstain from the vote because of her close family relationship to Mr. Skeldon. Wozniak is right in that by the letter of the law of the of the Ohio Ethic's commission, she was not officially violating nepotism laws -- but it doesn't remove the reality that she does have a conflict of interest in the debate -- even if not legally. Gerken, to his point, wants to give Skeldon time to implement many of the changes recommended by the dog warden advisory committee before making such a dramatic change -- ignoring that since the report came out, Skeldon has done little more than defend his actions.

The decision has not been greeted warmly by local politicians and the media. State Representative Peter Ujvagi (Democrat, Toledo) said "I think changes need to be made. It's very clear form the documentation of the types of dogs that have been put down that many of those ought to be adoptable."

John Stainbrook, the chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party was particularly distrubed to learn about all the puppies that were being killed in the shelter. "My God, there's puppies being killed. Under what set of circumstances or criteria is it ok to kill a puppy?" he said. "There's definitely some serious questions that need to be answered....the criteria set up to determine whether a dog should live or die needs to be re-examined obviously."

Finally, something Democrats and Republicans can agree on.

Stainbrook and Toledo city councilman Joe McNamara were also critical of Woziak's participation in the vote.

The Toledo Blade had a understandably harsh editorial criticizing the Commissioner's decision to retain Skeldon -- and of Wozniak's participation in the vote.  And their political cartoonist has also had a couple of  harsh criticisms of Skeldon.

While Skeldon is still in, the Dog Warden Advisory Committee has issued some strict new rules including:

1) Giving vaccinations to most animals prior to entering the shelter

2) Putting all dog photos up on the county web site within 24 hours

3) Suspend the killing of all puppies, including 'pit bull' puppies, unless a licensed vet diagnoses the dog as terminally ill or injured.

4) Seek a grant of funds for DNA testing to determine which dogs are truly 'pit bulls'

All of their recommendations were approved with unanimous votes.

Meanwhile, the Blade has decided to begin running a list of all of the dogs killed, and adopted, from the shelter to be sure people are aware. Today's list of killed animals includes 16 dogss, including some highly adoptable dogs like a Pomeranian mix, a corgie mix, a chihuahua mix and a couple of Labradors.

At this point, there seems to be no evidence that Tom Skeldon is capable, or willing, to make the changes necessary to end the slaughter in his shelter. Hopefully the county commissioners will make a swift decision regarding Skeldon, before thousands more dogs die under Skeldon's watch.

For more info:

For the Pit Bulls: Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon Feeling the Pressure

 

More places discussing BSL Repeals, and more on Tom Skeldon's Future

With the nightmare that so many places have created in large part because of their breed-specific policies, it is a wonder that any city would even consider such a failed approach. But the failures of the ordinances have certainly causing a few places to take a closer look at their BSL and consider potential appeals -- just like Oak Harbor, WA did.

Ontario

In 2003, Ontario became the first major area of Canada to pass a ban on particular breeds of dogs. Next Wednesday, MPP Cheri DiNovo plans to introduce a bill that would keep the Dog Owner's Liability Act with one major change, which is to get rid of the breed-specific part of the ordinance.

Fred over at One Bark at a Time has an exclusive interview with DiNovo (it's a rough audio file, but well worth the time you'd spend listening).  In here interview with Fred, she calls the law "ill conceived" talks about the many problems with the law's breed-specific measures including:
1) How the law is being enforced sporadically because of the over-broad definition in the law

2) The difficulty in determining which dogs fit the criteria

3) The unnecessary killing of thousands of healthy, well-behaved animals

She also notes that the breed specific law has not provided more safety to citizens (even citing that bites and deaths have actually gone up since the ordinance was put in place).

DiNovo also did a radio interview with Newstalk1010 that along with the sponsoring of the bill, will play a role in changing public perceptions and educating them about the problems with the breed ban.

If you are in Ontario, you can support her sponsorship of the bill next Wednesday, November 18th at Queen's Park.

Best of luck to Ms. DiNovo and the citizens of Ontario.

Sioux City, IA

Mayor Mike Hobart of Sioux City, IA thinks it's time for the council to tweak the city's controversial dangerous dog law.

The city passed it's dangerous dog law -- which includes a ban on 'pit bulls' -- in March of 2008, and it has been a huge black-eye and distraction for the city.  Problems have included:

- animal control actively targeting people who spoke out against the ordinance at city hall

- the local veterinarian community announcing they would not help them with breed identification

-- issues stemming from paperwork people were forced to sign that was forcing them to admit guilt -- a violation of the 5th amendment of the US Constitution

-  a city council member's Labrador Retriever biting a jogger, ending up being put on death row, and subsequently getting stolen from the shelter

-- led to a civil suit being filed against the city about the arbitrary nature of the enforcement of the law

-- and led to one of the council members who voted for the law, Jim Rixner, to be voted out of office last week in their most recent election (two others did not seek re-election)

Mayor Hobart said in front of his colleagues, "I have a perspective, having gone through this whole process. I do think there are several tweeks needed."

No timeline is set for when they will discuss, but they did determine to wait until the new council took over.  Congrats to the folks in Sioux City for making their voices heard, and counted at the polls.

Toledo

Time might be winding down on Tom Skeldon's deadly reign as Dog Warden in Lucas County. I documented many of Skeldon's failings yesterday, but TODAY, Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop plans to urge his fellow commissioners to either fire, or demote, Skeldon.

"If you're killing innocent dogs, I think that inherently is cause for termination," said Konop.

Konop also called for Tom Skeldon's first cousin, Tina Skeldon Wozniak, who is also on the county commissioners to recuse herself from all future votes involving Mr. Skeldon because he doubted she could maintain impartiality. "Due to the integrity of the process I think she should recuse herself", he said.

Meanwhile, the Toledo Blade, the newspaper of record, had an editorial today encouraging the commission to terminate Skeldon.

End Skeldon's Reign

IF TOM Skeldon were a dog in his own pound, he would have been euthanized a long time ago. No longer a pup, he is obsessive, stubborn, and incapable of learning to modify his behavior, and it is time for the Lucas County commission to end the dog warden's reign of terror so the county can take a new direction in animal control that focuses on saving dogs as well as protecting county residents.

Where is Toledo's heart?

Each day it is more obvious that 22 years as dog warden has closed Mr. Skeldon's mind and narrowed his vision. He pays lip service to new ideas but is incapable of seeing any way other than his way, which is to kill as many dogs as the law allows.

Read the rest here.

And it appears that all of the readers of the Blade agree with their sentiment. It looks like the clock may be ticking for Tom Skeldon.

It should also be noted that Skeldon was one of only a couple of "experts" that were brought in by Michael Bryant to testify in Ontario on behalf of their breed ban in 2003.  Meanwhile, Bryant has had his own set of problems.

The heat is on Toledo's Tom Skeldon

When it rains it pours, and right now, the wave of public discontent with Lucas County Animal control is pouring in on Dog Warden Tom Skeldon.

Yesterday, the Toledo Blade ran multiple articles on the failings of the Lucas County Animal Shelter under Skeldon's watch.

Most of the controversy centers around Lucas County's high kill rate -- according to their own figures, they kill around 77% of the dogs that come into their shelter -- totalling nearly 2500 dogs killed last year and 1848 killed so far this year.

Skeldon has continued to blame 'pit bulls' for the problem with the high kill numbers -- however, records pulled by the Toledo Blade show differently -- in total, 70 different breeds of dogs including 145 Labrador Retrievers and 131 German Shepherds -- and large numbers of Chows, Beagles, Cocker Spaniels, Shar Peis, Chihuahuas, Miniature Pinschers and Jack Russell Terriers.  Also 78 puppies under three months of age were among the 1848 dogs killed so far this year.

In total, the adoption rate under Skeldon is an abysmal 13%.  In other words, if the dog makes it into the shelter, most likely it is going out the back door, not the front, regardless of what breed it is.

While the County Commissioners are calling for a change, Skeldon seems little prepared to make the sweeping changes necessary. In the article, he calls a large number of the people who don't want animals killed in the shelter a part of the "criminal element" -- including singling out a couple of animal welfare groups that he thinks fit that criteria.   He also tries to point out that his job is not to save the lives of animals, but to protect people from dogs -- an archaic view of animal control, and something that he hasn't been successful at either.  He also dismissed John Dinon's, the executive director of the Toledo Humane Society, criticism that he was not declaring enough dogs adoptable and allowing them to be pulled by the Humane Society. 

Skeldon also scoffed at recommendations to transfer dogs to all-breed rescue groups. "The trouble with multibreed rescue groups is that in the past they wanted to come through and shop and cherry-pick.  In other words, they all wanted the sweet little dog. They don't want the bigger, older dog....they assume that they would adopt out more dogs than we do."   Um, Tom, you adopt out only 13% of the dogs that come into your shelter. It would be hard to do WORSE than that.

In a second article, the Blade compares Lucas County's euthanasia rates to those of surrounding city shelters -- and it's not pretty.

Wood County's euthanasia rate is 40%.

Monroe County's euthanasia rate is 36%. One way they've improved their numbers is by adopting out 'pit bulls". "We do not judge dogs by their breed. We judge dogs by their behavio," said Monroe County Animal Control Driector Linda Benson. "A bad dog is a bad dog, and it doesn't matter what the breed is. A good dog is a good dog, even if it's a pit bull."

Fulton County's euthanasia rate is about 28%.

Lucas County's is around 77%. 

Yes, changes need to be made. And the people who want changes are not criminals Mr. Skeldon, they are people who don't think that every animal that finds its way into the shelter should be killed. And most also agree with Linda Benson - -good dogs are good dogs, regardless of what they happen to look like.

The pressure is mounting on Tom Skeldon. The statistics are not on his side.  The letters to the paper keep piling up against him, and the political pressure for the county commissioners to change things is mounting.  And the current man in charge is showing no signs of having any desire to make the changes neccessary and demanded by the public.

It's is time for Lucas County to move on and fire Tom Skeldon-- and get an animal control director who is not living in the 1980s and is current with how modern society views animals. 

County Leaders to Tom Skeldon, the Status Quo is Unacceptable

A week after acommittee provided recommendations for how Lucas County Dog Warden tom Skeldon should perform his duties, County leaders in Lucas County have made it very clear that the status quo was no longer acceptable.

Skeldon has vowed to "redouble" his efforts to adopt out more animals -- curbing the shelter's abysmal 80% euthanasia rate - but provided no specifics on how he would do it.  Upon learning about Skeldon's response to the committee's recommendations, Lucas County Commission Presdident Pete Gerken said he would call a face to face meeting "to make sure he knows what he needs to do. If he needs some creative thinking, I'll be happy to give some."

Ouch.

Last November, under the same pressure, promised to get the shelter's adoption rate, which was then at 13%, up to 24% by the end of 2009, and up to 34% at the end of 2010.  However, as of August 22, the shelter adoption rate was still at an abysmal 16.1%.

As of October 23, 62% of the dogs in the shelter had been euthanized this year -- to which, Skeldon responded "We are a success story. We are to be emulated."   Meanwhile, Skeldon spent most of the article blaming everyone except himself for the problems in the shelter.

With a reaction like that, I sincerely doubt Skeldon has any desire or ability to make the changes possible to meet the demands of the public.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've written about this before, but society's views on the roles of animal control are changing. No longer is animal control seen as just a department that is designed to protect people from dogs -- a notion that came out of the fear of rabies decades ago. But it is also now seen as an important for animal control to protect animals from people - -including our very own shelters.

Skeldon, and many others who are of the "old school" mindset fail to recognize this and continue to kill animals in an effort to improve "public safety" -- with no regard whatsoever for animal welfare.

It is no longer an acceptable form of animal control (if it ever, indeed was).

What may be worse is that in 2008, Toledo saw a 23% increase in dog bites -- so they're not really working on the public safety angle either. It is a failure all around.

I'll talk more about this next week, but the ideas surrounding no-kill and public safety are NOT mutually exclusive. It is possible -- and being done - that cities are both promoting public safety AND improving the welfare of animals. They can, and do, work hand in hand.

And the sooner we put good managment in charge of our animal control divisions -- that see that there are two sides of animal control -- protection of people from animals, and protection of animals from people - the sooner we will make true progress toward becoming a no-kill nation -- one that is truly animal-friendly.

The world is changing - -and our views on animals are changing. And the sooner those who are in charge recognize that, the better.

Toledo Dog Warden Tom Skeldon under fire -- again

Lucas County (OH) Dog Warden Tom Skeldon continues to be under fire. Last year, a group of concerned Toledo-area residents put together a petition with 3,000+ signatures requesting the removal of Mr. Skeldo from his position as the Lucas County Dog Warden -- a position he has held since 1987.

This event, along with the shooting of a 10 lbs dog with a tranquilizer dart while it was on its front porch -- killing the dog -- led the Lucas County commissioners to appoint a committee to provide feedback on Skeldon's performance.

Yesterday, the comittee came back with their findings -- and it's not pretty.

The committee reported that Lucas County Animal Control lacks standard procedures for its daily operations -- including protocols for euthanasia and the use of tranquilizer darts to subdue dogs. The committee also very harshly criticized Skeldon's callous attitude toward animal welfare-- citing the shelter's 80% euthanasia rate, 7% adoption rate and and 18% reclaimed.  The committee also pointed out that Skeldon is not working with local all-breed rescue groups, not vaccinating animals when they come into the shelters which is causing the spred of disease and that he is promoting discrimination against pit bulls.

The newspaper of record, the Toledo Blade, has also jumped on Skeldon, with this morning's editorial entitled "Skeldon's got to go". Here's part:

"Some animals have to be put down because of illness or because past abuse has left irreparable psychological scars, but Mr. Skeldon's operation illustrates a more fundamental problem. The picture that emerged from the committee's recommendations was of a dog pound that is a killing machine, run by an official who has ruled his little fiefdom so long he has become both dictatorial and callous.

The people of Lucas County want a dog warden who is sensitive to life, one who remembers that the animals in his care often are the innocent victims of abusive or neglectful owners. Mr. Skeldon, who got his job mainly because of old family ties, loves the law better than animals, and has a prejudice against pit bull breeds so entrenched he even kills puppies far too young to be considered vicious."

Indeed. Most residents in most cities want animals to be treated with compassion. While part of the dog warden's job is to protect the people from aggressive animals, the other part of their job is to protect animals from people -- by enforcing cruelty and neglect laws. And then, when the dogs make it to the shelter, knowing that that is their last hope for a good life -- not an almost certain end to that life.

The pot that Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon is sitting in is beginning to boil...and it's not a moment to soon for the animals in Lucas County.

Breed Identification continues to be problematic and costly for BSL cities

You've read it here before on many an occassion, but breed mis-identification continues to be a haunting and expensive problem for cities that continue to thing determing a dog's viciousness by "breed" is an easier solution than basing it on thei actual bahavior.

It's not.

And cities and taxpayers continue to pay the price for this outdated thinking.

Last week, Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon was again in the court room.  In this case, Skeldon had confiscated three dogs that he deemed to be "pit bulls' saying that they were in violation of the county's Vicious Dog Law.

The owner of the dogs, Hugh Smith, says the dogs are not "pit bulls', but instead, he has the paperwork for the dogs that shows that all of them are documented Cane Corso's -- a type of Mastiff.  Smith's attorney, who appears to get the problem, notes that this mis-identification is a part of a larger issue:

"There's a history here of misclassifying pit bulls when they are not. Many of the people are scared to fight for their dogs, threatened with criminal prosecution."

While the case is ongoing, the dogs were granted a conditional release so they no longer have to be "cared for" at Lucas County Animal Control. From reports I've gotten, the dogs were in terrible shape after just two weeks at the Dog Warden's Facility, caked with feces and urine, sick with kennel cough, and already under weight.

In Denver, Kevin O'Connell had his Boxer-mix named Dexter taken from him by Denver Animal Control. O'Connell lived in nearby Thronton, but dropped Dexter off at a friend's house when he was headed out of town on Business. That is when animal control officers, who were responding to an unrelated call, saw Dexter in the back yard and took him to the pound because they thought he was a 'pit bull' - banned under the city's breed ban.

However, O'Connell appealed the breed identification, and an administrative judge ruled that Dexter was not a 'pit bull' -- even under Denver's broad definition.

"This verdict shows that Denver cannot enforce it's pit bull ban, They do not have qualfied experts in to enforce the ban and determine breeds of dogs," said Jennifer Edwards, the founder of the Animal Law Center.

Even though O'Connell was found innocent -- and that his dog was unfairly taken - he still got stuck with the bill from Denver for the Attorney fees, impound fees and vet fees -- something many people would not be able to afford if they were unfairly targeted.  This has caused many - including Denver's  alternative newspaper the Westword - to question just how many of the 3500 'pit bulls' that were killed in Denver since 2005 were really 'pit bulls' -- or dogs that were unfairly targeted and the owners did not have the resources to appeal the ruling.

"There could be thousands of people out there who can call into question if their family pet was killed for absolutely no reason," said Edwards. "How many of them were never actually pit bulls?"

Meanwhile, the costs of enforcement, and legal proceedings continue to mount in Denver -- all at taxpayer expense -- as the city is in the middle of yet another lawsuit and continues to defend its breed ban in site of having never done an audit of the ban to determine its success.

There's more on this case from the Animal Law Coalition website.

The combination of these two cases further enhance the statements that people have been making for years:

1) Breed ID based purely on looks is unreliable -- as most people aren't rally very good at visual breed ID of mixed breed dogs.

2) Dog bite studies based on media reports (that are based on visual breed ID) are not very reliable

3) And BSL is completely unenforcable because of the difficulties in breed ID -- and impact many dogs that are not among the targeted breeds.

All of this has caused some to declare this the "Beginning of the End of BSL" -- and it is certainly tearing away at the idea of it. It is proving to be ineffective, costly and too vague in how a "pit bull" is defined to be accurately and uniformly enforced. And as such, citizens should demand a wiser spend of their tax dollars to not waste so many dollars targeting dogs THAT AREN"T EVEN AGGRESSIVE -- but just happen to have a certain "Look" that people fear. 

And that just doesn't make sense -- on any level. And mainstream failures like these affecting innocent owners and dogs are going to cause a break down in the entire program.  Which will be good for everyone.

Toledo Blade: New Dog Warden Needed

It appears that Tom Skeldon's Act is getting really old. 

I've written a bit recently about Skeldon, but nothing compares to the Toledo Blade's Article from today.  Here's a start:

AS THE recent killing of a Point Place family pet makes perfectly clear, the first recommendation from the committee formed to suggest ways to improve the Lucas County dog warden's office must be a change at the top.

It is time for Tom Skeldon to go.

The Feb. 10 death by tranquilizer dart of Princess, a 10-pound Pomeranian-beagle mix that had gotten loose from its home, gave the county's dog warden a chance to show remorse, sympathy, understanding, and flexibility. Instead, after a cursory "sorry," he dug in his heels and blindly defended his department's policies.

It is through such policies, particularly a narrowly envisioned crusade against pit bulls, that Mr. Skeldon has developed a reputation as an uncaring zealot.

Enough.

Read the rest here.

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The public perception of what constitutes animal control has changed over the past 2 decades. No longer are people content to just see dog wardens protect people from dogs (something Skeldon hasn't been successful at doing), but they also want animal control that will protect dogs from people -- including the dog wardens.

Skeldon is linked in really strongly with the county commissioners. His uncle hired him 22 years ago. His first cousin currently serves on the commission. This may be enough for him to keep his job. But if public perception is any indication, his act is wearing thin. 

CompleteHat Tip to all the folks at Help Fido.