CHARDON, Ohio — The future of the Geauga County Dog Warden was up in the air after a heated exchange earlier this month in which the sheriff and county prosecutor's office criticized the dog warden, Matt Granito, for not doing his job to their expectations.
During that Dec. 17 meeting, Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand proposed that his office take over the dog shelter. The sheriff and prosecutor claimed that Granito failed to answer calls, picked up loose dogs, and focused too much on bringing animals in from shelters outside the county. They said taking over the shelter would be cheaper and better for residents.
Granito shot down that idea. He said that he can not seize certain dogs by law and that he's been working for months to fix the problem.
A county official told us that if the sheriff's office took over, they would put a deputy in charge, hold dogs for 72 hours, and then take them to the local humane society. The official added that they would no longer take dogs from out of state.
After the proposal was announced, a petition with over 3,000 signatures was created to stop the management change. The petitioners wrote they've adopted over 192 dogs this year and helped countless strays and other shelters. They feared that new management would close the Geauga County Animal Shelter.
Those fears were addressed on Friday during the Commissioners' meeting, where residents were encouraged to attend.
Hundreds of residents and supporters of the Geauga County Animal Shelter filled the third-floor meeting room at the Geauga County Administration Offices. People spilled into the hallway and surrounding rooms as the board conducted their weekly meeting.
At 9:30 a.m., the board began their business as usual. Votes on budgets were held, amendments were voted on, and housekeeping measures were addressed. Then, about 30 minutes later, the board took time specifically to discuss the dog warden situation.
Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri began by thanking so many people for showing up and apologizing to the community for the way the last meeting was conducted.
"I stand firm in saying that is not how to conduct business," Spidalieri said. "This should have been addressed in a whole different matter. If there's a problem, let's fix it. Let's not try to do something that is going to just put a political play in place to try to direct public opinion."
Commissioner James Dvorak, who asked Granito to be at the last meeting and initiated the conversation that turned to a heated back and forth, followed with an apology of his own.
"I handled it a little bit incorrectly," he said at Friday's meeting.
After the commissioners made their remarks, Granito took the floor to speak, overcome with emotion at the show of support for his work at the shelter as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
"I'm just overwhelmed. I've been doing this for 30 years...I have a high school diploma, that's all I've got. I'm a guy who got thrown in at the Lake County Humane Society making $4 an hour cleaning kennels," Granito said. "I continue to strive to help as many animals and as many people as possible."
Granito shared his desire to work together with the sheriff and improve communication to better do his job and serve the county while also continuing to rescue animals. He talked about the animals in Geauga County he's recently rescued and why his work matters.
Then, Granito left the meeting, heading straight back to the animal shelter to take care of the dogs in his care currently and complete some unfinished work.
But while Granito was out of the room, the community spoke to his work on his behalf. One after another, community members took the floor to share stories of the dog warden and the Geagua County Animal Shelter.
Judy Jacobson, a Munson Township resident, brought her dog Drake to the meeting. Now her service dog, Jacobson adopted Drake from the animal shelter. He had been brought in from Tenessee after bounding from shelter to shelter, avoiding the euthanasia list by being brought to Geauga County.
Jacobson shared the story of how Drake recently saved her life.
"He has become my service dog. He has also saved my life," she said. "He has learned to alert to an abnormal heart rate and rhythm for me and when I went into that abnormal rhythm...he went running across the yard, jumped up on to my chest, right here, two paws, launched me across the room apparently, left bruises for two weeks but it was able to restart my heart."
That, she said, would never have happened if the animal shelter was under the control of the sheriff.
Jacobson's story was mirrored by others who had adopted their best friends and four-legged family members from the Geauga County Animal Shelter.
Other residents came out with passionate cries of support.
"Hands down Geauga County dog shelter is the best shelter," said Amy Beichler, the executive director of PAWS Ohio. "And quite frankly Matt is the best dog warden I have ever worked with."
Some criticized the lack of communication with Granito and the handling of the first meeting. Some questioned the perceived lack of funding for the shelter.
In the midst of the support for Granito, commissioner Tim Lennon interrupted with an impromptu motion.
A motion to approve an amendment that would allocate $250,000 to the Geauga County Animal Shelter.
It was met with roaring applause from the crowd, and many thanks shouted from around the room.
The motion passed unanimously.
News 5 went to the shelter after the meeting and spoke with Granito, who had not yet heard about the motion.
"Oh my god," Granito exclaimed. "I got to hug you, I've got to hug someone. Oh my God, seriously? Oh man."
Granito began thinking of the ways that money could help his shelter. From outside runs for the dogs to upgraded kennels, he could see ways to improve the space and help more animals at the shelter.
A shelter he hopes remains under his watch moving forward—which is what many in the community made clear was their hope during Friday's meeting.
"I’m so grateful for everyone who was at the meeting," Granito said. "It’s not about me. When I’m gone I still want these lovely animals to be cared for."
