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Ohio Dog Shelter Under Investigation

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The Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center is being investigated

after complaints that veterinarians there have been killing dogs unnecessarily.

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The investigation is being headed by Marilyn Brown, the County Commissioner, after a meeting where local citizens expressed

concerns about the organization.

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Many of the complaints came from former shelter

employees,

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who say that shelter veterinarian Vincent Morton intentionally provoked dogs to be aggressive, then marking

them for euthanasia.

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Dr Morton was hired by the shelter in 2012, and allegedly began

mishandling dogs immediately.

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Last summer, a former employee stated that Dr Morton was intentionally ‘rough with them, almost like he was trying to get them to growl or bite.’

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The dogs weren’t the only ones being mistreated.

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Another employee reported that the doctor harassed an

employee for being gay.

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Another report says that the doctor pejoratively referred to a

Mexican employee at the shelter.

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Dr Morton gained a reputation in the shelter for belittling and disrespecting

everyone there. He hasn’t been available for comment as of yet.

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Elizabeth Lessner, a restaurant owner and founder of the Columbus Food

League volunteered at the shelter for five years.

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A fierce advocate of pit-bull rescue, she and other concerned volunteers

requested public records last year regarding

complaints from other volunteers and paid staff.

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It was at this point that a case was made to the

commissioner that a formal investigation should be

started.

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The shelter is a large facility, newly completed in 2011 for eighteen million

dollars.

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The shelter staffs 38 fulltime employees with a 3

million dollar annual operating budget.

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Lessner remarked to the commissioner that though ‘the outside of our brand-new shelter is beautiful,

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some of the ugly practices inside are detracting from

the shelter’s mission.”

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She believes that new policies need to be

established that clearly outline how, when, and why a dog should be sent to the

adoption floor or euthanized.

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The rules now are not clear, and it is unclear whether

blatant intimidation of dogs is unlawful or just unethical.

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Dogs have to be tested in order to assess their

behavior in a variety of situations that could incite

violence.

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The aggressive techniques may have been an effort to combat the warning issued by the Ohio State University

College of Veterinary Medicine back in 2008.

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They said that the shelter may have been passing off

sick or vicious dogs for adoption, resulting in the

removal of the director and assistant director.

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Ohio Dog Shelter Under Investigation