Work begins on Erie County's replacement dog pound

6/6/2006

SANDUSKY - Work on a dog pound to replace an aging, metal structure in the Erie County government complex began in earnest yesterday, with a goal of completing the structure by Oct. 1.

The 3,700-square-foot facility will be more than triple the size of the current dog pound and will cost $564,300. The dog pound is self-supporting, and the new facility will be paid for through sales of dog licenses, Dog Warden Barb Knapp said.

The new facility will house about 17 dogs in larger kennels with outdoor runs, Ms. Knapp said.

The county broke ground on Thursday. Focht Construction of Port Clinton is building the facility, which will be wood-framed with a red brick facade to match other county buildings, Ms. Knapp said.

Completion is scheduled for December, but Ms. Knapp said fair weather should speed up the timetable.

The new pound is being built on the site where Erie County had its first dog pound, which was inside a barn. Around 1970 the barn was replaced by a metal structure, which is the one being replaced, said Ms. Knapp, who has been the dog warden since 1975.

Erie County sells 14,000 dog tags a year and has a 76 percent success rate of reuniting lost dogs with their owners or selling them, she said.