As Northeast Ohio animal shelters continue to deal with capacity issues, one Akron rescue group has found a temporary solution.
Rubber City Rescue will soon open a new space in a building on Kenmore Boulevard, President Laura Lawson said Tuesday.
Right now, Lawson keeps dogs at her Akron home because there’s a lack of available shelter space in Summit County, she said.
Summit County Animal Control is consistently full, and the Summit County Humane Society only accepts sick or abused animals. Akron does not have its own dog pound.
“There’s nowhere for our dogs to go,” she said. “So, they’re either running the streets, and they become scared and unpredictable, and they end up hit by cars.”
Rubber City Rescue will rent out the first floor and basement of the building, which is owned by Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, she said.
The group will have about 15 kennels in the beginning, with plans to expand, she said. They will care for the dogs there until they can be adopted out, she added.
“It’s going to give us more space, a lot more space, and we can get them out of my house,” Lawson said.
County animal control officers legally must respond to stray dog calls that come from the county’s townships, but while Akron pays the county to use its shelter, the county does not have to accept dogs from the city when the shelter is full, county officials previously told Ideastream Public Media.
That means Akron dog wardens often have nowhere to take stray dogs, Lawson said.
“Now, they will,” Lawson added. “The taxpayers are paying them, and this is what they pay them to do, so actually, we’re helping each other.”
Both city dog wardens and the Akron Police Department will have access to the building after hours so they can drop dogs off on overnight calls, Lawson added.
The group has been calling for Akron and Summit County officials to find a solution to problem, which has been growing since the pandemic, Lawson said.
After the group spoke at recent city council meetings, Councilmember Tina Boyes, who represents Akron's Kenmore neighborhood, notified Lawson about the building, Lawson said.
While this is a temporary fix to capacity issues at local shelters, Lawson said it’s not a permanent solution.
Other local rescue groups bring in dogs from kill shelters in other states, Lawson said, which is partly to blame for the crowded shelter space.
“They go out of state, they go out of county, they bring in more dogs, and then our dogs pay the price,” Lawson said.
Lawson hopes to be in the new space in six to eight weeks following renovations, she said.
