A BIG thank you to all 180 families who brought their furry friends for a photo with Santa this year! Because of your generosity and holiday spirit, almost $4700 was raised for the shelter’s Dick Goddard Best Friends’ Medical Relief Fund to care for sick and injured shelter dogs. All of the photos will be displayed in the shelter lobby until the end of January so please come and enjoy them. Thanks also to our wonderful Santas and Elf as well as Dick Goddard and the shelter staff and volunteers for their help in making this event such a big success! We can hardly wait for next year!
We love receiving Happy Tails from our adopted dogs and hope you’ll enjoy them too! If you have a Happy Tail you’d like to share about a dog you’ve adopted from us, click on the link to the left.
Show your support for saving shelter pets by ordering the “Pet Friendly License Plate”. Just a click away and $25 at www.petsohio.com. Be the first to acquire these plates for your vehicle and help Ohio’s No More Homeless Pets Campaign.
By law, any monetary donations we receive go directly to our animals. Please remember to renew your dog license by Jan. 31st since it is our primary source of support.
Thousands of dogs are received by the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter each year. Our shelter staff works with each new arrival as follows:
- Each dog is given a preliminary medical check and is wormed and vaccinated for distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza, and parvovirus.
- Each animal is evaluated for adoptability taking into consideration the health, age, and temperament of the dog.
- Under Ohio law, a stray must be held for 72 hours prior to adoption. During this holding period, we interview potential adopters who are interested in a particular dog when he or she becomes available for adoption. The holding period is extended for dogs with current licenses (14 days) or other forms of identification (7 days).
- During the holding period, every effort is made to locate the dog’s owner, including sending a certified letter to the owner of record for any dog with a current license.
About Our Care & Lodging
While in our care, dogs receive fresh water, quality food, and medication when necessary. The large and spacious kennels are cleaned and disinfected throughout the day. Once a dog is available for adoption, volunteers walk and exercise him or her. They also bathe and groom them during their stay with us.
Although many dogs may be very fearful and nervous about their new surroundings at first, within a day or two of our special care, we usually see wagging tails and enthusiastic greetings from each of our special pups.
Here is how we help reunite dogs and their people:
- We maintain a bulletin board where notices of lost and found dogs are placed and checked daily by our staff.
- Notices in the daily newspaper are monitored and a special flyer with detailed information is given to each visitor looking for their missing companion.
- A daily log is kept of each incoming dog which includes a description of the dog and the location found.
- To assist with the very large number of calls, a computerized list is updated daily with details on every dog housed in our kennel.
An experienced staff will help with advice and coaching after the dog has gone home. All adopted dogs are spayed or neutered before leaving the shelter. The County’s very modest adoption fee includes:
- Dog license
- An adoption kit with specially prepared training literature
- Initial vaccines
- Spay/neuter
- Dog food
- Free obedience lecture
We participate in many projects in an attempt to place as many dogs as possible including weekly television showings and “on site” promotions.
A team of volunteers assist the shelter with many activities that we would be unable to accomplish otherwise.
These include:
- Bathing and grooming
- Adoption Follow-Ups
- Literature Distribution
- Fund-Raising
- Humane Education
- Promotional Booth Work
If you have some free time to spare and love animals, helping our homeless canines can be a rewarding experience. Call our volunteer coordinator at 216-525-7877 or check out the Help Us section for other ways that you can help.
Our staff visits schools, Scout troops, libraries, civic and other organizations to help instill in both children and adults a respect and kindness toward animals. Unique teaching tools help us to educate children about animals. Tours of the shelter can also be arranged.
If your group is interested in hosting one of these special hands on learning programs, please contact us to make arrangements or to find out more:
Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter
9500 Sweet Valley
Valley View, Ohio 44125
216-525-4817
Thank you Dick Goddard and Fox8 News for featuring six of our adoptable dogs every Friday during the 6 pm newscast!
These dogs were on TV Friday March 5
Our Deputies are trained to handle each dog in the most humane way possible. Dogs receive prompt medical emergency treatment. Sick, injured, or aggressive stray dogs are housed separately from the rest of the Kennel population. These animals are continuously monitored by an experienced medical team.
