Stark County’s dog wardens are losing their jobs, but the chief warden thinks the change will bring progress to the community.
The Sheriff’s department is taking over the dog warden duties on March first. Current head warden Jon Barber and four of his assistants will lose their jobs. They can reapply to work for the Sheriff’s department, but they have to be certified as deputies.
Barber says one benefit of the change is deputies can enforce the law.
“The dog warden’s officer’s office was very limited in our scope," Barber said. "So we could only enforce the specific section as it dealt with dogs running at large, being licensed, and no rabies. So that limited what we could do, when we got there if we saw an animal that might be neglected or abused we had to call in different people. We couldn’t take action.”
And Barber says that left citizens who reported complaints frustrated.
Stark County's dog shelter in Canton has been undergoing renovationsthat are due to be completed this month.