Tails in the news
Scout projects help no-kill shelter expand dog services
The League for Animal Welfare (LFAW) in Batavia, Ohio will soon be able to offer a dog-walking trail and dog agility course for its resident dogs, thanks to the hard work of two local Boy Scouts. Scout John Bauke is working on the dog-walking trail with his dad Greg and the Cincinnati Nature Center, while Scout Matt Turk is working with LFAW Dog/Cat Trainer, Donna Krauzser to design and build the agility course.
Bauke and Turk are undertaking these tasks as part of their Eagle Scout projects. Eagle Scout is the highest rank one can reach in the organization and only about 5 percent of all Boy Scouts do so. In order to receive the honorable rank, a qualified candidate must spearhead a volunteer program that places him in a leadership position. Both Bauke and Turk sought out ideas from the LFAW that would allow them to commit an extensive amount of time to their projects while providing a much-needed service to
the organization.
“When I was looking for a project to do, from the start I wanted to do something for dogs,” says Bauke. His initial support for LFAW stemmed from the group’s no-kill policy toward the animals
it rescues.
In addition to his own time commitment, Bauke has also secured volunteers to spend time building the trail, including members of his scout troop and his brother. Though he hasn’t taken his two dogs, Willy and Tito, onto the trail yet, Bauke plans on letting them test it out once they finish building it.
For the dog agility course, Turk is working with a combination of scouts from his troop and LFAW volunteers. He didn’t originally know what he wanted to do for his project. “I emailed [LFAW] looking for ideas,” he says. Turk’s family adopted a dog from LFAW, so they already had a relationship with the organization. When one of the options suggested to him was building a dog agility course, Turk knew he had found a project that would be a good fit.
Bauke offers this advice for others interested in starting a volunteer project: “Find something you are interested in and figure out what kind of help you are able to provide and just pick up the phone.”
“Definitely try to help out in a local shelter, especially no-kill shelters,” Turk says. “Even if you just want to go pet the animals.”
The League for Animal Welfare is a voluntary, nonprofit, humane organization chartered in 1949 that has operated as a no-kill shelter since 1964. It is dedicated to bettering the lives of companion animals in the Greater Cincinnati area by providing shelter, adoption, public education and spay/neuter programs. For more information about beginning a volunteer project visit LFAW.org or email lfaw_vols@fuse.net.
Dog ban in Cincinnati angers some residents
A Cincinnati ban on dogs in Fountain Square dating back to 1975 is drawing ire from city dog-lovers, forcing the local government to take a second look at the restriction.
The issue was brought up in June, after a group promoting an event called “Opera Dogs” arrived at the square with their dogs dressed up in festive attire. Those dogs were allowed in the square under the rules of the ban, as they were involved with a pre-approved program. Bill Donabedian, Managing Director of Fountain Square, says the problems began when people showed up at Opera Dogs with their own dogs, without realizing the ban was in effect. Since then, a group called Fountain Square Dogs has been formed with the ultimate goal of making Fountain Square dog friendly.
“We’ve been looking at this issue since November, before the Opera Dogs event” says Cincinnati City Spokesperson Meg Olberding. She says the city wanted to get Fountain Square re-opened and then take a look at the usage and see how it related to the dog ban. “We are certainly considering [repealing the ban],” she says. “It is an issue though, that people feel passionate about on both sides.”
Fountain Square Dogs member Lydia Stec argues dogs should be allowed at Fountain Square for economic reasons. “The city is trying to bring back urban living,” she says “and [they are] encouraging young professionals, empty nesters, and others to move to the city center.” She believes the young people moving in want to be able to walk their dogs through the center of the city. Her hope is that calls and complaints to the city will encourage them to repeal the ban and make Fountain Square a space everyone can enjoy, either with, or without a dog.
Donabedian says there are several challenges associated with allowing dogs on the square, including the porousness of the granite, stocking supplies for waste clean-up, and paying for custodians for upkeep of the square.
Still, Stec is hopeful the city will overturn the ban.
“I think that if the point of Fountain Square is to be a fun central gathering place for folks to enjoy, why not have your dog be able to go with you?”
Legislation Alert SB 173 and HB 223
Ohio could become the first state in the nation to regulate large kennels that breed dogs if Senate Bill 173 and House Bill 223 are approved by the Ohio legislature. Under the terms of the legislation, licensing fees would range from $150 for a kennel housing at least nine adult dogs, to $750 for a breeding kennel with more than 30 adult dogs. A breeder’s license could be revoked if the dogs are not kept in clean and sufficient housing and in sanitary conditions, given proper health care and human contact, or put up for adoption once they are not used for breeding. The measures would also require breeders to be fingerprinted. Sen. Gary Cates (R-4th District) and Rep. Jim Hughes (R-22nd District) introduced the legislation. The Humane Society is supporting it.
