New playground will give Holmes dogs room to roam
This is one of several new pieces of equipment designed for the new dog playground area at the Holmes County Dog Warden and Adoption Center near Millersburg.
There’s a new playground in Holmes County. This one isn’t for human beings but rather for the public’s four-legged friends.
The Holmes County Dog Warden and Adoption Center northwest of Millersburg has recently received a large donation from an area family in honor of a family member who recently passed away and was devoted to supporting the department.
With that donation Holmes County dog warden Jonathan Beam said they were able to create a new playground area for canine that will not only allow them to exercise the dogs in the kennel, but also will be open to the public after hours.
Beam recently met with the Holmes County commissioners to get their blessing on this new playground for dogs and to discuss how the operation will invite the public to utilize the several new pieces of playground equipment with their dogs.
“Last year we had the donation come in, and we invested a portion of that money in creating a playground in her memory,” Beam said.
The playground includes four new pieces of equipment along with a new picnic table and creates plenty of climbing and playing opportunities for the dogs.
“We’re very pleased with the equipment, and it is going to be very beneficial for our dogs, and I think the idea of opening it up to the public to create this kind of membership-type thing will work well.”
The plan is for the dog warden’s office to charge a nominal annual membership that will allow any member to bring their dog in after the facility closes each night and on weekends to work with their dogs or let them roam the playground area, which is completely fenced in. The playground would be open from 4:30 p.m. to dusk on weekdays, and Beam said they have cameras in place to monitor the area.
“The goal is to allow the public to bring in their dogs when we’re not using it with our dogs during open hours,” Beam said. “Not only are we helping the dogs in our care remain active, but we are also helping out the community.”
Beam said he has already discussed the liability concerns with Misty Burns, Holmes County director of human resources, and they have worked on a liability waiver that would be signed by any community member who wants to become a playground partner by signing up for a membership.
Any income received from these memberships would go to the organization’s ongoing dog healthcare and medical expenses.
Commissioner Dave Hall said he did have some initial concerns about opening it to the public, but he was able to do some research on other similar parks and playgrounds designed specifically for dogs and those have had great success, so the commissioners agreed to move forward with the proposal.
“They seem to be well managed and easy to care for without having to be managed,” Hall said. “I don’t see any hindrance.”
Beam said the hope is to eventually have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the family of the individual who left the kennel the funds to celebrate that gesture.
From there the discussion went to the current concern of people dumping unwanted dogs off illegally at the kennel and at the Holmes County Humane Society in Fredericksburg.
Beam said it has become a growing concern that needs to be addressed because those leaving dogs overnight often do so in ways that can put a dog in a harmful situation.
Because the humane society deals only with cats and not dogs, Beam said it quickly becomes the dog warden’s work.
“The humane society is having issues (with people dropping off dogs), so their problem immediately becomes our problem,” Beam said. “We’ve had folks tying up dogs to their banisters or setting crates down outside their shelter, and then they are there overnight.”
Beam said that scenario has played itself out three times in the past month, which has prompted the HCHS to install cameras outside to catch those dropping off dogs.
Beam said the county has seen a major increase in dogs being dropped off illegally at their own site. Much of the issue has come from the huge increase of people purchasing or adopting dogs during COVID, and now that COVID has come and gone, many people have realized caring for a dog is a time-consuming task.
Thus, they are dropping off dogs at a much greater rate and sometimes not in the proper fashion.
“We’ve had people blatantly lying to us,” Beam said. “They come in and say they found this dog as a stray, and it’s actually their dog. We’re trying to figure out ways we can tackle this issue.”
He said they also will install better camera systems at their facility to help combat illegal drops, with the discussion of also adding trail cameras to areas where drop-offs seem to be occurring more frequently.
“The important thing is that these dogs are dropped off in a safe and proper manner,” Beam said.
For questions concerning proper procedures on how to do so, call the Holmes County Dog Warden and Adoption Center at 330-674-6301.