Ashtabula County Animal Shelter Addresses Funding Crisis, Defends Capacity Decision

The Ashtabula County Animal Protective League is setting the record straight about recent criticism following its decision to temporarily suspend humane agent operations after reaching 250% capacity in August.

The nonprofit shelter has taken in more than 920 animals already this year and says it made the difficult choice to protect animals already in its care rather than accept more than it could responsibly handle.

“The real failure would have been accepting more animals than we could care for responsibly,” the organization stated.

The shelter operates primarily on private donations, raising 85% of its budget through donors and volunteers. Only 15% comes from government contracts.

Ashtabula County pays the organization $90,784 annually under a contract that requires the shelter to accept all dogs brought by the county. The shelter estimates this service costs hundreds of thousands of dollars beyond what the county provides.

The City of Ashtabula has a contract with the shelter, but the City of Conneaut does not pay for services.

Court-ordered holds create additional financial strain. In one recent case, the shelter spent over $18,000 caring for nine dogs held for 60 days and received no reimbursement.

The organization estimates it has saved taxpayers approximately $1.4 million since 2007 by acting as the county’s stray-hold facility, avoiding the need for a county-run dog pound.

The shelter says its decades-old facility can no longer meet demand and it needs a larger building and increased funding to continue serving Ashtabula County residents and animals.

The organization praised the City of Ashtabula for collaborative efforts and expressed hope that all jurisdictions will work toward sustainable agreements. More information is available at acapl.org.