Dogs Starved At Shelter

Two dogs are dead after being malnourished at a Green Country animal shelter. It happened in Pawnee County at the City of Cleveland's Animal Shelter. News On 6 anchor Jennifer Loren reports taxpayers are asking how this could happen in the city's backyard and what will be done to stop it from happening again.

"It's just horrid. I think it's just awful that anybody could neglect their animals like that, any animal, stray or a pet," said Jody Love.

When Jody Love heard a rumor that dogs had died of starvation at the Cleveland Animal Shelter she called The News On 6 to investigate.

The Cleveland Police Chief is in charge of the city's pound, but the city's animal shelter is actually just a bunch of dog runs in the city's maintenance lot. It's gated and locked and sometimes, forgotten.

"The two dogs that died were in these runs here," said Cleveland Police Chief Dale Howard.

Chief Howard says the city can only afford one part time animal control officer. When that officer's wife became ill, he forgot about two dogs he'd left in the runs and no one else checked on them.

"It slipped everybody's mind," said Howard.

For three hot July days the dogs went with no food or water and died.

The police chief was asked what would happen to a regular citizen who let this happen.

"We'd have to look at the totality of the situation also. You know and I'm not saying we're any less guilty than anybody else," said Howard.

But the chief would not say if the officer was disciplined because it's a personnel issue. He did say they'd changed their animal control policy to have two officers check the runs twice a day, but Love hopes the city goes beyond that and gains more compassion.

"Cause they're animals that need taken care of. No matter if they're strays or not I mean they're still living animals," said Love.

Chief Howard says he'd like to have a full time animal control officer and an indoor shelter, but right now, he says, the city simply cannot afford it.