The county had given its dog warden the right to shoot lost dogs and bury them in mass graves. More than 600 dogs had been executed in this inhumane fashion in the last year alone.
But now, the county's empty dog cages are no longer haunting signs of death. That's because the county's commissioners have voted to stop the shootings, Taylor reported.
The county's lost pets are now finding safe homes. Animal rights groups said that Tuesday's decision is a big victory.
For the past 15 years, Morgan County dog warden Jeff Driggs has been shooting dogs and dumping them into mass graves, and he didn't have much of a problem with it.
After exposing the routine shootings in an Action News exclusive investigation, the county voted to end the shootings and replace the violent process with painless and more humane lethal injections.
Public pressure has been intense since Action News' report first aired earlier this month. The county said that it is also addressing another concern by putting up signs and posting the Morgan County Animal Shelter's routine hours.
Taylor was the first to tell you about hundreds of dogs being shot and dumped into mass graves in Ohio's killing fields of Morgan County. Now, before a stay of execution runs out for the animals, the APL in Cleveland made a move.
It's hard to imagine that anyone would shoot a helpless little puppy dog, but Morgan County has shot and killed more than 700 dogs in the last two years.
The APL saw the Action News exclusive investigation, and they decided to rescue the dogs in Morgan County and bring them to Cleveland for adoption.
"I anticipate in the next 10 days we will do our first pick-up," APL spokesperson Jeff Kocian said.
Last year, Morgan County's animal shelter shot 600 dogs and only adopted out 16.
"It is about money," Morgan County Commissioner Ron Moore said. "It's not about expediency or anything like that."
When Taylor informed Moore that Vinton County officials decided to stop shooting lost dogs after Action News approached them last week, Moore had a positive reaction.
"That's absolutely a good move," he said.
But when Moore and his other fellow commissioners had a chance to do something about stopping the violent practice in Morgan County, they balked, choosing not to bring the issue up for a vote during their board meeting on Thursday.
The Morgan County Animal Shelter's low rates of adoption could be linked to several things, including the fact that the barn or animal shelter has no routine posted hours. Plus, the animal shelter or barn doesn't even have a sign outside identifying it.
At the APL in Cleveland, however, it is a different story.
"We really started advertising 10 years ago," Kocian said.
That likely explains why people in Greater Cleveland, like Ewing Hicks, know where they can adopt their next pet, which might now come from Morgan County's doggie death row.
"For this APL to do something of this nature, it's commendable," Hicks said. "God bless them."
Morgan County still has to vote on whether or not to continue to shoot the lost pets. Action News asked them to stop and they have agreed, but they said that a final vote on the issue wouldn't happen for at least another two weeks.
If you would still like to apply some pressure on Morgan County before the vote is conducted, you could contact Morgan County Commissioner Ron Moore at (740) 962-3183. You could also send him a message via e-mail at ron_moore@mnp.net.
McCONNELSVILLE, Ohio
Action News' Scott Taylor exclusively reported last week that one Ohio county has been controlling its pet population by shooting lost animals in the head and then burying them in mass graves. The undercover investigation sparked such a widespread reaction of outrage that the county just about had no choice but to look at alternatives.
Action News has heard from people in California, North Carolina, Georgia and other locations all across the country -- Americans reacting to the kind of government policy that you would think was only in place in Third World nations.
All of the people wanted to add their voices to those already fighting to stop the shooting of dogs in Morgan County, and it now appears that Morgan County is finally listening.
Just days after Action News asked the county to stop shooting dogs, commissioners there have agreed to put the routine shootings on hold until they could do more research lethal injections, which most consider a painless and more humane method of controlling the pet population.
Later this week, the county is expected to approve the transport of some of its dogs to Cleveland, where the Animal Protective League will put them up for adoption.
Emily Matusek, who's with the Ohio Humane Education Association, has tried to rescue animals from the county's shelter in the past with little luck.
"If we had an opportunity to know about these puppies and put them up for adoption, we could have saved some," Matusek said.
Last year, the county shot at least 600 dogs. Only 16 were adopted out.
The low adoption rate might be due to the fact that the county animal shelter has no signs and no posted hours.
"The public hours are after 4 p.m. in the evening," Morgan County Commissioner Ron Moore said. "I don't think they are posted. We did have a sign at one time, but somebody took it."
The county had justified the violent policy of shooting pets by saying that it's cheap, but now it appears they might come to the conclusion that they could afford more humane alternatives after all. On Thursday, they will likely vote on whether to stop the shootings for good.
If you would still like to apply some pressure on Morgan County before this week's vote, you could contact Morgan County Commissioner Ron Moore at (740) 962-3183. You could also send him a message via e-mail at ron_moore@mnp.net.
This is a story that you could only have seen on Action News.
Pike County captured 1,300 dogs last year and killed each and every one of them.
Five years ago, public pressure made most counties change the way they put down lost animals. Many counties had used kill boxes where the pets would be gassed. Most counties switched to lethal injections, but some, including Morgan and Pike counties, started shooting the animals and placing their dead bodies in mass graves.
Morgan County shot more than 600 pets last year, and earlier this week, Action News asked them to stop.
After Action News exposed the violent policy on Monday, public pressure has started to mount to stop the shootings. "We feel it is humane," Morgan County Commissioner Ron Moore said. "It has been considered humane. We wish we had other options."
The truth is that Morgan County does have options. Lethal injections cost only 54 cents a dog. Plus, the Ohio Humane Education Association has offered to help develop an adoption program.
Still, the county continues to shoot your pets.
Now, there's another option. The Animal Protective League in Cleveland is willing to help.
"There are three reasons why we don't shoot dogs: one, it's inhumane; secondly, it's very hard on the staff; third, it's not a sure destruction of the animal," APL spokesman Jeff Kocian said.
The APL uses lethal injections, but after seeing the Action News story, they are more interested in picking up dogs at the Morgan County Animal Shelter and transporting them to Cleveland for adoption.
"I would say almost all of them will get homes," Kocian said.
Morgan County might have their solution, but we've discovered even more disturbing news. Pike County uses a gas box to kill lost dogs. The dog warden there picked up 1,300 dogs last year and gassed them all.
Pike County commissioners call their adoption program, "not a good one." They have promised to work on it.
To put pressure on Pike County commissioners, you can call them at (740) 947-4817 or you can e-mail them at pkcoc@bright.net.
Sources have told Action News that Morgan County will accept the offer from the Cleveland APL.
His report was an Action News exclusive investigation.
"That right there is the face of an unwanted dog," Ohio Humane Education Association spokeswoman Lori Godby said, pointing out a dead animal in the grave. "That was shot probably in the eye, and thrown in there dead."
It's routine practice in Morgan County. After county dog warden Jeff Driggs puts a bullet in your pet's head, it's tossed into a mass grave.
When asked if he thought shooting dogs was a humane method of controlling the pet population, Driggs said, "Yes it is."
The American Veterinary Medical Association disagreed with Driggs' assessment. An AVMA spokesperson said that when it comes to routine euthanasia at shelters, gunshots should not be used.
Emily Matusek, of the Ohio Humane Education Association, said that she wants the practice stopped.
"It's horrible. It's just horrible," Matusek said.
"It looked like they were trying to claw there way out," she said of some of the dead animals.
So far this year, Driggs has shot 103 dogs. Only six have made it out alive through adoption or redemption by their owners.
Morgan County Commissioner Ron Moore told Action News that the dog warden reported that at least 600 dogs were shot last year.
When asked how many dogs he shot last week, Driggs said, "I don't have any idea."
He added, "I don't have anything to say to you guys."
Matusek said that the county should be ashamed of itself because there should be people caring enough to "do something about it."
It might all be legal in Ohio for now, but Matusek said that it's just not the right way to treat man's best friend.
The county justifies the violent policy for pets by saying that it's cheap.
If you're outraged by Morgan County's policy for controlling the pet population, you could express your displeasure by contacting Morgan County Commissioner Ron Moore at (740) 962-3183. You could also send him a message via e-mail at ron_moore@mnp.net.