Authorities say Internet rumors that Summit County Animal Control is planning a mass kill of animals at the shelter are not true. Those rumors have been heard locally and Marion Online has received several messages from concerned people.
"Not only are we not going to euthanize animals, we are going to treat the move to the new facility as a training opportunity," Craig Stanley, director of administrative services, said Monday.
Dogs and cats that have not found homes by the Aug. 21 move will be cared for and transported to the new facility by people trained to help animals in emergencies. Personnel from County Animal Rescue and Evacuation (CARE), in cooperation with the Summit County Red Cross and the Summit County Emergency Management Agency, have volunteered to assist with the move, he said.
Rumors that dogs and cats that remain at the shelter when it moves to its new $2.96 million facility this month would be killed began circulating shortly after more than 200 dogs and cats found homes last week at an adopt-athon sponsored by the Summit County Animal Coalition.
Circulating like wildfire, the rumors have been reported on Web sites such as Facebook and Craigslist, Stanley said.
The shelter has received more than 200 calls asking if the rumors are true, he said.
After the adopt-athon, cages at the shelter were virtually empty, with 98 dogs and more than 100 cats having found homes. By Monday, about 25 or 30 dogs and puppies and about 60 cats and kittens had been left at the pound, he said.
Click here to read more of this story from the Akron Beacon Journal.
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