PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Dogs at the Lake County Dog Shelter are more comfortable now following a series of changes made after the air conditioning system failed during a heat wave just before the Fourth of July.
The air conditioning failure forced shelter staff to relocate dogs when temperatures became dangerous. The problem was a part that was needed for a geothermal system that's more than 20 years old. The system has since been repaired, but the county is looking ahead.
"We are now in the process of looking into what's next. We know it's an older system, we know repairs can be difficult to manage," Lake County Commissioner Morris Beverage III said.
The air conditioning issue highlighted broader community concerns about shelter policies and procedures.
"We took this opportunity to take a look at the big picture of how do we want the dog shelter to operate moving forward," Beverage said.
"We had some complaints about how the dogs we had to euthanize were being disposed of, so we've developed a partnership with a company that comes in, cremates them and spreads the ashes on their property," Beverage said.
The county has also partnered with the Lake Humane Society. The organization will help evaluate dogs for adoption. All adopted animals will be spayed or neutered before going to a forever home, and Beverage said veterinary care is now a priority.
"We have a standing appointment with one of our local vets, that we appreciate, on Fridays," said Beverage. "We want to make sure the dogs are getting seen at least within a week," he added.
Engineers are now evaluating the building's mechanical systems to develop a long-term plan for the aging HVAC system.
Tracy Carloss is the Lake County anchor and reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @TracyCarloss, on Facebook TracyCarlossWEWS or email her at Carloss@wews.com.
