Ohio County Animal Shelter Is Full After About 15 More Dogs Seized, Needs Adopters and Fosters

Up in the Northern Panhandle, a shelter full of good dogs is hoping West Virginia will do what West Virginia does best: show up for its neighbors, four-legged ones included.

The Ohio County Animal Shelter in Triadelphia is out of room for dogs. Before this week, the shelter was already caring for 24 dogs in a main building built to hold 26. Then staff took in roughly 15 more dogs that were seized from a single location where shelter manager Dave Campbell said the animals had been living in poor conditions.

Every kennel spoken for

The newly seized dogs are being kept in a separate quarantine area inside the shelter, so they aren't counted among the 24 already there. That means staff are shuffling space to make it all work while they look for families who can help.

Campbell said dog adoptions have slowed over the last few months, and finding homes for dogs in particular has been a struggle. Cat adoptions have gone a bit better, but the shelter still can't take in more cats right now, even though plenty of strays around the community need a place to go, until some of the cats already there find homes.

What they really need: homes

Here's the good news: folks in Ohio County have already come through on supplies. Campbell said the community has been quick to answer whenever the shelter runs low on food, bleach, blankets or cleaning supplies, and the shelves are in good shape for now.

What's hard to come by is a home. The shelter is asking for two kinds of help:

• Adopters ready to give a dog or cat a permanent place on the couch.
• Foster families willing to take a dog in temporarily and free up a kennel while the animal waits for its forever family.

The shelter likes to talk with prospective fosters and adopters first so each dog lands with the right family, and each family gets the right dog. So instead of just dropping by, give them a call to set up a time to come meet the animals.

How to help

The Ohio County Animal Shelter is run by the Ohio County Commission and sits at 7011 National Road in Triadelphia. To schedule a visit, call 304-547-1013. According to the county, the shelter is open daily from 12:30 to 5 p.m., and adoption fees are listed at $160 for dogs and $80 for cats.

Can't adopt or foster right now? Sharing this story with friends and family in the Wheeling area could be how one of these pups finds the family that's been looking for them. It's a small thing that can make a big difference.