Caveat tipped me off on an article in the Toledo Blade today.
Many residents of Toledo have been signing a petition to remove Tom Skeldon as the head of Animal Control for Lucas County. The group has gotten nearly 3,000 signatures for the removal of Skeldon and will be having a meeting in front of county commissioners next week.
Ben Konop, a county commissioner, doesn't want the meeting to be "a trial" for Skeldon, however, he wants to hear what they have to say.
"I think it's only fair if you've got 3,000 Lucas County residents upset about something to give them a chance to have a public hearing. This, to me, is a first step toward having a more public discussion."
The group is accusing Skeldon of not collaborating enough with animal rescue shelters, promoting discrimination against pit bulls by treating them as inherently vicious dogs, and for an overall callous attitude toward dogs' welfare.
Skeldon seemed to not know anything about the group's meeting with commissioners. However, his one statement seems to really highligh where his problem is. "My job is to protect the people of Lucas County from dogs and to protect their property from dogs."
Here's the deal. A LOT has changed since Skeldon became the "dog warden" in 1987. People want more from their animal control officers than merely public safety and taking in stray dogs. While that is certainly a PART of the job, it's certainly not what everyone expects. Simply put, I think (and this seems to be the general consensus of most people) that animal control is responsible for three main goals -- in the following order:
1) Protect people (and property) from dogs
2) Protect dogs from people (this includes cruelty/neglect and shelter euthanasia).
3) Do both at a responsible cost of taxpayer funds.
Skeldon has officially taken on his role as merely being a dog catcher -- and law enforcement officer. He has completely forsaken the role of handling goal number two - -and people do not want that anymore (if they ever did). People will no longer stand for dogs being allowed to be neglected and abused and nothing be done about them, or for dogs to be yanked out of people's homes merely for the way they look, or for dogs to be killed in the city shelter when there are rescue groups more than willing to take in these animals.
Not seeing the greater picture of what animal control is responsible for is a complete failure for Skeldon and any other animal control officer like him. And it is this mentality -- of animal control as simply being dog catchers -- that needs to change to fit the ideals of modern society.
So head on out and show your support for the group against Skeldon next week. Send a message that we demand more than dog catchers with our taxpayer dollars...we demand a little humanity too.
The argument I've seen is that Skeldon is simply doing his job. But, what he also does is boast about how many dogs he kills, specifically dogs of the bull breeds. There is simply no room for a member of public service to gleefully proclaim his/her proficiency with killing.
Posted by: Dave | October 21, 2008 at 08:14 AM
Brent, the meeting is TODAY, I got the info on super-short notice.
I hope some of our friends from Help Fido might make it but it's tough at 2 pm on a weekday.
Posted by: Selma | October 21, 2008 at 09:38 AM
Today?! The Help Fido folks are centered around the Columbus area -- so it's a long trek for them. But I would hope that many of the folks from the Canine Advocates of Ohio group can be there.
Posted by: Brent | October 21, 2008 at 09:42 AM
We thought about going but yes, it's difficult to get to Toledo from Columbus on a weekday. I'm not sure if CAO group was present or not. However, the group up there in Toledo really seems to be on top of things. As to your post, Brent, I completely agree and thought the same thing when I read that. A good argument could be made that keeping dogs safe from people is a much bigger problem currently than the other way around. As I know you are aware, spend a few hours in a shelter or humane society and your opinion of our fellow humans can't help but go down when you see the mistreatment many dogs (and cats) receive.
Posted by: Brian C | October 21, 2008 at 04:10 PM
Looks as though about 40 people showed up:
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081021/NEWS02/810210250
Posted by: Selma | October 21, 2008 at 09:05 PM
It looks like Skeldon had the Mayor and a number of law enforcement stand up for him.
Here in the Kansas City area we have seen totally incompetent staff just get transferred to another department, but never fired.
It's very frustrating fighting against the staff in these cities.
Posted by: KC KS Kills Dogs | October 22, 2008 at 12:47 AM
I would ask questions related to performance.
Have dog bites increased or decreased under Skeldon's watch? How about general bylaw infractions - loose dogs, failure to stoop and scoop, excessive barking, etc.
How much time is spent chasing 'pit bulls' instead of working to create compliance?
Has licensing compliance increased or decreased under Skeldon's watch?
Have there been improvements in equipment, facilities, etc?
Is there a policy of increasing staff training - conflict resolution, dog behaviour, owner counselling?
Is there a dog bite prevention program in place for utility and public personnel, for children in the schools?
Skeldon has been in his position since 1987 (freaky). What qualified him for the job initially, and has he been involved in continuing education - has he taken any management course, animal control courses, is he up to date on new developments in his field?
Has there been any measurable improvement in the way animal control is perceived by the public, in reduction of overall problems, in revenue increases which pay for animal services in Toledo?
And so on. Forget Skeldon, look at his performance.
Oh, and vote that mayor out at the next civic election.
Posted by: Selma | October 22, 2008 at 09:41 AM
I really hope he is fired. If he is, maybe this will send a clear message to the shelter I work at to clean up their act as well. *crosses fingers*
Posted by: Tasha | October 23, 2008 at 03:44 PM
I really hope he is fired. If he is, maybe this will send a clear message to the shelter I work at to clean up their act as well. *crosses fingers*
Posted by: Tasha | October 23, 2008 at 03:44 PM
I really hope he is fired. If he is, maybe this will send a clear message to the shelter I work at to clean up their act as well. *crosses fingers*
Posted by: Tasha | October 23, 2008 at 03:45 PM
I certainly applaud what 4 Lucas County Pets is doing. It needs to happen in Cleveland too. CAO did have its NW Ohio rep there (s/he has become known to Skeldon and could possibly receive some "visits" from his office soon...I am grateful the risk people are going to face this injustice head on) but Skeldon has already done the most damage to Ohioians by "winning" the Tellings case and having the courts affirm BSL is constitutional. The sitting judges that are up for election this year are definitely NOT getting my vote. I hope other Ohioians are going to do the same. We need to exercise our power when we can.
Posted by: Dawn | October 26, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Dawn, please post all the judges names here and get the word out to the Ohio groups ASAP! THIS is exactly the way BSL will get overturned in Ohio. At this point its the only way - VOTE THEM ALL OUT!!!! I will post them in the KCDA newsletter for our members to forward to their contacts in Ohio.
Posted by: MichelleD | October 27, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Michelle,
I just checked this today. Sorry!
The sitting judges are (don't vote for):
Maureen O'Connor (R)
Evelyn Stratton (R)
Opposition (vote for these justices):
Joseph Russo (D)
Peter Sikora (D)
Posted by: Dawn | October 30, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Isn't O'Connor the one who wrote the nice write up about how BSL was completely unnecessary and yet voted to overtun Tellings anyway?
Posted by: Brent | October 30, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Yes Brent, she's the one. I felt betrayed.
Posted by: Dawn | October 30, 2008 at 08:05 PM
Yes, O'Connor wrote a dissent but still voted to overturn. I felt betrayed.
Posted by: Dawn | October 30, 2008 at 08:11 PM
I participated in the meeting and represented Canine Advocates of Ohio. I think the commissioners are listening and their feedback has been very positive. They are ready to make some changes. Skeldon was quoted in the paper as saying he knew nothing about the meeting, yet every person who spoke on his behalf mentioned that he asked them to come. Did I mention they were all either being paid by the city or were city politicians? Two letters that were written to the commissioners so that they could be read at the meeting began with "Tom Skeldon asked me to write". As usual Skeldon opens mouth and inserts foot. People expect the truth from public servants, not self-serving lies. If anyone would like to help support those of us who are stuck in Lucas County please email the commissioners. Ask them to support the efforts of Canine Advocates of Ohio and 4 Lucas County Pets by establishing a citizens advisory board to develop a new vision for Lucas County and to close the pound and develop an Animal Resource Center. Their addresses are bkonop@co.lucas.oh.us ; twozniak@co.lucas.oh.us; pgerken@co.lucas.oh.us Thanks for your support!
Posted by: Jean | October 30, 2008 at 09:36 PM