Live Saving Partnership: Cincinnati Animal CARE | Heart & Hustle Podcast

Cincinnati Animal Care handles nearly 9,000 animals a year, runs two facilities, and operates as Hamilton County's official animal services provider. In this episode of Heart and Hustle in Hamilton County, host Jeff Aluotto, County Administrator, sits down with CEO Carolyn Evans and COO/Interim Dog Warden Meaghan Colville to break down how the organization works, why the county partnership came together in 2020, and what it really takes to run one of the region's busiest animal welfare operations.

To learn more about Hamilton County, Ohio, our services and job openings, visit hamiltoncountyohio.gov.

Transcript

1
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,492
Jeff Alutto: All right. Welcome to Heart and Hustle
and Hamilton County.

2
00:00:18,492 --> 00:00:21,984
Jeff Alutto: This is a podcast entirely dedicated to
the people, policies

3
00:00:21,984 --> 00:00:25,475
Jeff Alutto: and programs that form Hamilton County
government. Why the name

4
00:00:25,475 --> 00:00:28,967
Jeff Alutto: Heart and Hustle? Because it best
describes the public servants

5
00:00:28,967 --> 00:00:32,459
Jeff Alutto: that every single day work behind the
scenes to make

6
00:00:32,459 --> 00:00:35,951
Jeff Alutto: Hamilton County one of the best run
county governments in

7
00:00:35,951 --> 00:00:36,300
Jeff Alutto: America.

8
00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,584
Jeff Alutto: So thank you for joining us today. This
is a

9
00:00:39,584 --> 00:00:42,768
Jeff Alutto: bit of a government 101 primer for
people who are

10
00:00:42,768 --> 00:00:45,953
Jeff Alutto: kind of policy government wonks, who
want to just understand

11
00:00:45,953 --> 00:00:49,137
Jeff Alutto: a little bit more about what makes their
government tick.

12
00:00:49,137 --> 00:00:52,321
Jeff Alutto: And we've got a really cool program for
you today.

13
00:00:52,321 --> 00:00:55,505
Jeff Alutto: First of all, I'm Jeff Aluotto, county
administrator, with me,

14
00:00:55,505 --> 00:00:58,689
Jeff Alutto: as always, behind the control board here
as Bridget Doherty,

15
00:00:58,689 --> 00:01:00,600
Jeff Alutto: our communications director for Hamilton
County.

16
00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,417
Jeff Alutto: And like I said, we've got a really cool
program

17
00:01:04,417 --> 00:01:08,233
Jeff Alutto: today. We are out at Cincinnati Animal
Care out here

18
00:01:08,233 --> 00:01:12,050
Jeff Alutto: in Northside. Believe that we're
officially on North Side. Right.

19
00:01:12,050 --> 00:01:15,867
Jeff Alutto: And we have CEO Carolyn Evans with us
today and

20
00:01:15,867 --> 00:01:19,683
Jeff Alutto: COO and acting dog warden Meaghan
Colville with us today.

21
00:01:19,683 --> 00:01:23,500
Jeff Alutto: Did I get both the titles right?
Correct. All right.

22
00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:26,431
Jeff Alutto: Cool. Okay. So Carolyn, let's start with
you in terms

23
00:01:26,431 --> 00:01:29,362
Jeff Alutto: of just how did you get started in this
business

24
00:01:29,362 --> 00:01:32,000
Jeff Alutto: and what brought you ultimately to
Cincinnati Animal Care?

25
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,158
Carolyn Evans: Me personally, this is definitely a
second career for me.

26
00:01:37,158 --> 00:01:41,316
Carolyn Evans: Running a major municipal animal
services operation was not on

27
00:01:41,316 --> 00:01:45,474
Carolyn Evans: my bucket list, but I made a career
change. I

28
00:01:45,474 --> 00:01:48,800
Carolyn Evans: made my way to Cincinnati after graduate
school.

29
00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,673
Carolyn Evans: I got my MBA at Ohio State and worked in

30
00:01:51,673 --> 00:01:54,546
Carolyn Evans: Cincinnati for about a decade as a
management consultant. And

31
00:01:54,546 --> 00:01:57,419
Carolyn Evans: then I wanted to take a little bit of a

32
00:01:57,419 --> 00:02:00,292
Carolyn Evans: step back, slow down my life a little
bit, and

33
00:02:00,292 --> 00:02:03,165
Carolyn Evans: start my family, spend time with my with
my son.

34
00:02:03,165 --> 00:02:06,038
Carolyn Evans: And the career change happened. But the
slowing down didn't

35
00:02:06,038 --> 00:02:06,900
Carolyn Evans: happen so much.

36
00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:10,509
Carolyn Evans: I initially had a part time pet
photography business called

37
00:02:10,509 --> 00:02:14,117
Carolyn Evans: PhoDOGrapher which I did for about a
dozen years. And

38
00:02:14,117 --> 00:02:17,726
Carolyn Evans: then I started really focusing on some
passion projects of

39
00:02:17,726 --> 00:02:21,335
Carolyn Evans: mine, which all were related to animal
welfare. So in

40
00:02:21,335 --> 00:02:24,943
Carolyn Evans: the past 20 years, I initially was the
board chair

41
00:02:24,943 --> 00:02:28,552
Carolyn Evans: of the United Coalition for Animals and
opened the region's

42
00:02:28,552 --> 00:02:31,800
Carolyn Evans: first high volume clinic for dogs and
cats here.

43
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,233
Carolyn Evans: And then 15 years ago, I launched My
Furry Valentine,

44
00:02:35,233 --> 00:02:38,666
Carolyn Evans: which is the region's largest mega
adoption event. And then

45
00:02:38,666 --> 00:02:42,099
Carolyn Evans: in in the last decade, I helped form
Cincinnati Animal

46
00:02:42,099 --> 00:02:45,531
Carolyn Evans: Care and Clermont Animal Care to run
operations for animal

47
00:02:45,531 --> 00:02:48,964
Carolyn Evans: services for those two counties,
respectively. So that's how I

48
00:02:48,964 --> 00:02:52,397
Carolyn Evans: ended up here. There's a couple folks at
the shelter

49
00:02:52,397 --> 00:02:54,800
Carolyn Evans: in a similar boat leaving corporate
careers.

50
00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,561
Carolyn Evans: We like to call ourselves corporate
dropouts, but really following

51
00:02:57,561 --> 00:03:00,322
Carolyn Evans: our passion. What I think is more
interesting than my

52
00:03:00,322 --> 00:03:03,084
Carolyn Evans: story is how Cincinnati Animal Care
ended up here in

53
00:03:03,084 --> 00:03:05,845
Carolyn Evans: Hamilton County. Yeah. Why don't you go
into that? Yeah,

54
00:03:05,845 --> 00:03:08,606
Carolyn Evans: yeah. While we were in Clermont, Meaghan
was with me

55
00:03:08,606 --> 00:03:11,367
Carolyn Evans: at the time. Our leadership team was
quietly watching what

56
00:03:11,367 --> 00:03:13,300
Carolyn Evans: was happening over here at Hamilton
County.

57
00:03:13,300 --> 00:03:16,741
Carolyn Evans: And it was a time of change for Hamilton
County.

58
00:03:16,741 --> 00:03:20,182
Carolyn Evans: There was an animal services provider
who had been here

59
00:03:20,182 --> 00:03:23,624
Carolyn Evans: for many years, and the community was
really wanting a

60
00:03:23,624 --> 00:03:27,065
Carolyn Evans: higher level of accountability and
transparency. And so there was

61
00:03:27,065 --> 00:03:30,506
Carolyn Evans: a there was a demand for change. And at
the

62
00:03:30,506 --> 00:03:33,947
Carolyn Evans: time, the SPCA also indicated that they
wanted to put

63
00:03:33,947 --> 00:03:36,700
Carolyn Evans: some distance between themselves and the
county contract.

64
00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:39,492
Carolyn Evans: So they think it was September of 2019.
They had

65
00:03:39,492 --> 00:03:42,284
Carolyn Evans: announced that they wanted to relinquish
the contract, and so

66
00:03:42,284 --> 00:03:45,077
Carolyn Evans: we reached out to the county and wanted
to start

67
00:03:45,077 --> 00:03:47,869
Carolyn Evans: exploring opportunities to see if we
could work with you.

68
00:03:47,869 --> 00:03:50,661
Carolyn Evans: And we were really pleasantly surprised,
very quickly, to see

69
00:03:50,661 --> 00:03:53,453
Carolyn Evans: that there was a lot of alignment
between the work

70
00:03:53,453 --> 00:03:56,245
Carolyn Evans: that we wanted to do and what the county
was

71
00:03:56,245 --> 00:03:58,200
Carolyn Evans: looking for in an animal services
operator.

72
00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,745
Carolyn Evans: So we started running the county
contract in August of

73
00:04:00,745 --> 00:04:01,000
Carolyn Evans: 2020.

74
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,659
Jeff Alutto: That's fantastic. And you've been a
great partner in all

75
00:04:04,659 --> 00:04:08,317
Jeff Alutto: those years, so thank you for that,
Carolyn. And Meaghan,

76
00:04:08,317 --> 00:04:11,976
Jeff Alutto: kind of same question to you. What got
you into

77
00:04:11,976 --> 00:04:15,634
Jeff Alutto: this business and how did you get to
Cincinnati Animal

78
00:04:15,634 --> 00:04:16,000
Jeff Alutto: Care?

79
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,545
Meghan Coreville: Well, I was I'm really the one on our
leadership

80
00:04:19,545 --> 00:04:23,091
Meghan Coreville: team that has probably the most amount
of time in

81
00:04:23,091 --> 00:04:23,800
Meghan Coreville: animal sheltering.

82
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,219
Meghan Coreville: I started in 2010 out in Los Angeles. I
worked

83
00:04:27,219 --> 00:04:30,639
Meghan Coreville: at the SPCA in Los Angeles, and my
background is

84
00:04:30,639 --> 00:04:34,058
Meghan Coreville: education. I taught for three years.
That's where I my

85
00:04:34,058 --> 00:04:37,477
Meghan Coreville: bachelor's degree, my master's degree in
education, and after three

86
00:04:37,477 --> 00:04:40,897
Meghan Coreville: years was always sort of the like the
animal teacher.

87
00:04:40,897 --> 00:04:44,316
Meghan Coreville: I started an animal club for the kids
and things

88
00:04:44,316 --> 00:04:45,000
Meghan Coreville: like that.

89
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,870
Meghan Coreville: If there was an injured bird on campus,
they'd come

90
00:04:47,870 --> 00:04:50,739
Meghan Coreville: try to find me. But I was able to really

91
00:04:50,739 --> 00:04:53,609
Meghan Coreville: blend those two passions. Teaching and
animals in Los Angeles

92
00:04:53,609 --> 00:04:56,478
Meghan Coreville: as part of the humane education team
that was out

93
00:04:56,478 --> 00:04:59,348
Meghan Coreville: there. So that's how I got my start. And
then

94
00:04:59,348 --> 00:05:02,217
Meghan Coreville: eventually, after a few years, I kind of
dropped the

95
00:05:02,217 --> 00:05:04,800
Meghan Coreville: education side of it and stayed with
shelter operations.

96
00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,235
Meghan Coreville: It's very expensive in Los Angeles,
especially working in nonprofits.

97
00:05:08,235 --> 00:05:11,670
Meghan Coreville: So I made my way back east. I'm actually
from

98
00:05:11,670 --> 00:05:15,104
Meghan Coreville: Toronto, Canada originally, but my
family's in Ohio. I went

99
00:05:15,104 --> 00:05:18,539
Meghan Coreville: to Ohio State, so I ended up in
Cincinnati. And

100
00:05:18,539 --> 00:05:21,974
Meghan Coreville: I've been doing this animal shelter work
in Cincinnati since

101
00:05:21,974 --> 00:05:25,409
Meghan Coreville: about 2016. Carolyn and I were put in
touch with

102
00:05:25,409 --> 00:05:28,500
Meghan Coreville: by a mutual friend, and we hit it off.

103
00:05:28,500 --> 00:05:31,688
Meghan Coreville: I think we both had the same vision for
what

104
00:05:31,688 --> 00:05:34,875
Meghan Coreville: we wanted to see an animal services. So
we've been

105
00:05:34,875 --> 00:05:38,062
Meghan Coreville: working together since probably early
2019. And yeah, I will

106
00:05:38,062 --> 00:05:41,250
Meghan Coreville: echo what Carolyn said, that we were
very excited to

107
00:05:41,250 --> 00:05:44,438
Meghan Coreville: have the opportunity to Hamilton County
because it's been a

108
00:05:44,438 --> 00:05:47,625
Meghan Coreville: great partnership. It's been really fun
to be able to

109
00:05:47,625 --> 00:05:48,900
Meghan Coreville: work with county administration

110
00:05:48,900 --> 00:05:51,246
Meghan Coreville: That is so, you know, they want what we
want.

111
00:05:51,246 --> 00:05:53,592
Meghan Coreville: They want we want strong animal services
in our county.

112
00:05:53,592 --> 00:05:55,000
Meghan Coreville: So it's made our job easy.

113
00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,293
Jeff Alutto: Absolutely. No thank thank you both for
that. So a

114
00:05:58,293 --> 00:06:01,585
Jeff Alutto: couple of things real quick. First of
all before I

115
00:06:01,585 --> 00:06:04,878
Jeff Alutto: forget PhoDOGrapher awesome name that is
classic and is is

116
00:06:04,878 --> 00:06:08,171
Jeff Alutto: there a Buckeye connection here or is
that just completely

117
00:06:08,171 --> 00:06:08,500
Jeff Alutto: coincidental?

118
00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:11,000
Carolyn Evans: Coincidental. That's incidental too.
Buckeyes here for sure.

119
00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,211
Jeff Alutto: Yeah, it's very cool. Good. So, you
know, when we

120
00:06:14,211 --> 00:06:17,421
Jeff Alutto: think about animal care in the work that
the the

121
00:06:17,421 --> 00:06:20,632
Jeff Alutto: dog warden function of the county does,
you know, so

122
00:06:20,632 --> 00:06:23,842
Jeff Alutto: many people think about this is the
place where you

123
00:06:23,842 --> 00:06:27,053
Jeff Alutto: come to adopt a pet. But there's so much
more

124
00:06:27,053 --> 00:06:29,300
Jeff Alutto: that goes on behind the scenes here.

125
00:06:29,300 --> 00:06:32,328
Jeff Alutto: I just know we do calls what? Every
month. I

126
00:06:32,328 --> 00:06:35,356
Jeff Alutto: think we've got something on the
calendar. We do a

127
00:06:35,356 --> 00:06:38,385
Jeff Alutto: teams call where we catch up on what's
going on

128
00:06:38,385 --> 00:06:41,413
Jeff Alutto: out here. And and I just know from those
conversations

129
00:06:41,413 --> 00:06:44,441
Jeff Alutto: that this is just a huge operation and
the work

130
00:06:44,441 --> 00:06:47,469
Jeff Alutto: that has to go on behind the scenes to
make

131
00:06:47,469 --> 00:06:50,497
Jeff Alutto: this work, I think would really surprise
a lot of

132
00:06:50,497 --> 00:06:50,800
Jeff Alutto: folks.

133
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,181
Jeff Alutto: So when you think about the the mission
and the

134
00:06:54,181 --> 00:06:57,562
Jeff Alutto: operations of this facility and this and
Cincinnati Animal Care,

135
00:06:57,562 --> 00:07:00,943
Jeff Alutto: how would you describe just to the
average resident, what

136
00:07:00,943 --> 00:07:04,324
Jeff Alutto: would you say about the mission and the
work of

137
00:07:04,324 --> 00:07:04,1000
Jeff Alutto: this organization?

138
00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:05,000
Carolyn Evans: I think it's important to understand
that when we envision

139
00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:05,000
Carolyn Evans: what what animal services could look
like in Hamilton County,

140
00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:05,000
Carolyn Evans: we really envisioned a support center.

141
00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,841
Carolyn Evans: We envisioned a community resource for
folks, for people who

142
00:07:21,841 --> 00:07:25,083
Carolyn Evans: care about animals. We're not just an
animal services provider.

143
00:07:25,083 --> 00:07:28,324
Carolyn Evans: We are a human services provider for
people that care

144
00:07:28,324 --> 00:07:31,566
Carolyn Evans: about animals. And we wanted we knew
that in order

145
00:07:31,566 --> 00:07:34,807
Carolyn Evans: to get animals out alive, you have to
have programs

146
00:07:34,807 --> 00:07:37,400
Carolyn Evans: in a pathway for them to do that.

147
00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,121
Carolyn Evans: It's not enough just to say we don't
want to

148
00:07:40,121 --> 00:07:42,841
Carolyn Evans: animals to die in our county shelter.
There has to

149
00:07:42,841 --> 00:07:45,562
Carolyn Evans: be very strategic programing to make
that happen. So we've

150
00:07:45,562 --> 00:07:48,283
Carolyn Evans: been working very hard for the last six
years to

151
00:07:48,283 --> 00:07:51,004
Carolyn Evans: develop those programs from the
beginning to develop those programs

152
00:07:51,004 --> 00:07:53,724
Carolyn Evans: and that infrastructure to make sure
that we could not

153
00:07:53,724 --> 00:07:56,445
Carolyn Evans: only help animals, but help the other
end of the

154
00:07:56,445 --> 00:07:59,166
Carolyn Evans: leash, help the people that are caring
for animals, and

155
00:07:59,166 --> 00:08:01,886
Carolyn Evans: very important to us, is doing as much
work as

156
00:08:01,886 --> 00:08:04,607
Carolyn Evans: we can in advance so that we can keep
animals

157
00:08:04,607 --> 00:08:07,328
Carolyn Evans: in their homes rather than them ending
up at the

158
00:08:07,328 --> 00:08:07,600
Carolyn Evans: shelter.

159
00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,276
Carolyn Evans: So we do everything that we can to
provide, to

160
00:08:10,276 --> 00:08:12,953
Carolyn Evans: try to prevent surrender. For many, many
years, the model

161
00:08:12,953 --> 00:08:15,629
Carolyn Evans: for animal services across the country
has been that the

162
00:08:15,629 --> 00:08:18,306
Carolyn Evans: animal shelter has been a dumping
ground, and a lot

163
00:08:18,306 --> 00:08:20,982
Carolyn Evans: of people, that's not really where they
want their animals

164
00:08:20,982 --> 00:08:23,659
Carolyn Evans: to end up, but they get to a point of

165
00:08:23,659 --> 00:08:25,800
Carolyn Evans: desperation and they think that's their
only choice.

166
00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,307
Carolyn Evans: We are trying to work with the community
and build

167
00:08:28,307 --> 00:08:30,813
Carolyn Evans: programs and educate folks to know that
there are ways

168
00:08:30,813 --> 00:08:33,320
Carolyn Evans: that we can help them, instead of just
taking in

169
00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,827
Carolyn Evans: their animals. There are ways that we
can support them

170
00:08:35,827 --> 00:08:38,333
Carolyn Evans: and help them keep their animals in
their homes, which

171
00:08:38,333 --> 00:08:40,840
Carolyn Evans: is much it's better for the animal, it's
better for

172
00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,347
Carolyn Evans: the county shelter with limited space
and limited resources, and

173
00:08:43,347 --> 00:08:44,600
Carolyn Evans: it's better in many times.

174
00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,276
Carolyn Evans: In many cases, it's better for the
families as well.

175
00:08:47,276 --> 00:08:49,953
Carolyn Evans: They really want to keep their pets with
them and

176
00:08:49,953 --> 00:08:52,629
Carolyn Evans: our it is our goal to try to make that

177
00:08:52,629 --> 00:08:55,306
Carolyn Evans: happen. If that's the best solution for
the animals and

178
00:08:55,306 --> 00:08:57,982
Carolyn Evans: the people involved. Well, I love that
you talked about

179
00:08:57,982 --> 00:09:00,659
Carolyn Evans: this being as much about being a human
services provision

180
00:09:00,659 --> 00:09:02,800
Carolyn Evans: entity as it is just an animal services.

181
00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,859
Jeff Alutto: I remember one of the times I was out
here,

182
00:09:05,859 --> 00:09:08,918
Jeff Alutto: and I think it was just randomly on a
tour.

183
00:09:08,918 --> 00:09:11,976
Jeff Alutto: I forget the exact purpose, but I was
here and

184
00:09:11,976 --> 00:09:15,035
Jeff Alutto: there had been a car wreck, I think, and
a

185
00:09:15,035 --> 00:09:18,094
Jeff Alutto: woman and the person that she was with
were injured

186
00:09:18,094 --> 00:09:21,153
Jeff Alutto: in the wreck and they were sent to the
hospital,

187
00:09:21,153 --> 00:09:23,600
Jeff Alutto: but there was a dog there as well.

188
00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,400
Jeff Alutto: And you guys were called, took that dog
in. I

189
00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,200
Jeff Alutto: think the dog had some injuries and you
have the

190
00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,1000
Jeff Alutto: capabilities here to do surgery and
things like that. So

191
00:09:31,1000 --> 00:09:34,800
Jeff Alutto: I'm not I can't remember exactly what
the outcome of

192
00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,600
Jeff Alutto: that was, whether it was good, bad,
whatever. The point

193
00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,400
Jeff Alutto: being is that when that person, whoever
it was woke

194
00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,200
Jeff Alutto: up in the hospital, I can imagine one of
the

195
00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:45,1000
Jeff Alutto: first things after they assess their own
condition and that

196
00:09:45,1000 --> 00:09:48,800
Jeff Alutto: of their of the person that was with
them, is

197
00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,200
Jeff Alutto: what happened to my pet.

198
00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,891
Jeff Alutto: My pet was and you guys took care of
that.

199
00:09:52,891 --> 00:09:55,582
Jeff Alutto: And that's really important to know that
there's an agency

200
00:09:55,582 --> 00:09:58,273
Jeff Alutto: here that thinks about those things and
takes care of

201
00:09:58,273 --> 00:10:00,964
Jeff Alutto: not just the animals, but the human
connection that's there,

202
00:10:00,964 --> 00:10:03,655
Jeff Alutto: too. So I think that's a great asset
that we

203
00:10:03,655 --> 00:10:04,1000
Jeff Alutto: have here in the community.

204
00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,400
Carolyn Evans: Yeah, it's definitely that piece of mind
for pet owners.

205
00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,039
Carolyn Evans: I think this might be a good time to
mention

206
00:10:11,039 --> 00:10:13,679
Carolyn Evans: that a lot of the funding for the county
shelter

207
00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,318
Carolyn Evans: comes from dog licenses. And a lot of
times people

208
00:10:16,318 --> 00:10:18,957
Carolyn Evans: don't. They don't understand that. They
don't know that they

209
00:10:18,957 --> 00:10:21,597
Carolyn Evans: need to have a dog license, but they
don't understand

210
00:10:21,597 --> 00:10:24,236
Carolyn Evans: what it is for. It is funding those
types of

211
00:10:24,236 --> 00:10:24,500
Carolyn Evans: programs.

212
00:10:24,500 --> 00:10:27,037
Carolyn Evans: It is that safety net for people in our
community.

213
00:10:27,037 --> 00:10:29,575
Carolyn Evans: So when your animal does get lost. We
can either

214
00:10:29,575 --> 00:10:32,112
Carolyn Evans: quickly help reunite you with your
animal or if it

215
00:10:32,112 --> 00:10:34,649
Carolyn Evans: does end up at the shelter for any
reason, you

216
00:10:34,649 --> 00:10:37,187
Carolyn Evans: can have a peace of mind of knowing that
we're

217
00:10:37,187 --> 00:10:39,724
Carolyn Evans: providing that level of care that you
would want for

218
00:10:39,724 --> 00:10:41,500
Carolyn Evans: your animal at the county animal
shelter.

219
00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,375
Jeff Alutto: Yeah, great. Great plug, Carolyn. Thanks
for that. And of

220
00:10:45,375 --> 00:10:49,149
Jeff Alutto: course, and you know, we've talked a
little bit about

221
00:10:49,149 --> 00:10:52,924
Jeff Alutto: the requirements. There's Ohio law that
requires that counties run

222
00:10:52,924 --> 00:10:56,699
Jeff Alutto: a dog warden operation. That's
specifically what is in is

223
00:10:56,699 --> 00:11:00,473
Jeff Alutto: in the code at a very, very high level.
But

224
00:11:00,473 --> 00:11:04,248
Jeff Alutto: there is a difference between what is
required in terms

225
00:11:04,248 --> 00:11:08,023
Jeff Alutto: of the functions of dog warden and
humane work as

226
00:11:08,023 --> 00:11:08,400
Jeff Alutto: well.

227
00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:10,640
Jeff Alutto: So, Megan, could you just touch on that
a little

228
00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,880
Jeff Alutto: bit in terms of that difference in how
you try

229
00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:14,000
Jeff Alutto: to balance that work here?

230
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,140
Meghan Coreville: Yeah, every county is required to have
the dog warden

231
00:11:18,140 --> 00:11:22,281
Meghan Coreville: service, which is part of the Ohio
Revised Code, 955.

232
00:11:22,281 --> 00:11:26,421
Meghan Coreville: And that's really the people protection
aspect of things. The

233
00:11:26,421 --> 00:11:30,561
Meghan Coreville: dog wardens that we have employed here
at Cincinnati Animal

234
00:11:30,561 --> 00:11:34,702
Meghan Coreville: Care, representing Hamilton County, are
responsible for making sure that

235
00:11:34,702 --> 00:11:37,600
Meghan Coreville: people in our community are kept safe.

236
00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,519
Meghan Coreville: It is a balance of trying to also make
sure

237
00:11:40,519 --> 00:11:43,439
Meghan Coreville: that the animals are cared for in our
community. And

238
00:11:43,439 --> 00:11:46,358
Meghan Coreville: we have humane agents that work on our
dog warden

239
00:11:46,358 --> 00:11:49,277
Meghan Coreville: team that are able to go out and
investigate cruelty

240
00:11:49,277 --> 00:11:52,197
Meghan Coreville: as well. But at the end of the day, I

241
00:11:52,197 --> 00:11:55,116
Meghan Coreville: think, you know, a lot of the Ohio laws
are

242
00:11:55,116 --> 00:11:55,700
Meghan Coreville: pretty old.

243
00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,374
Meghan Coreville: They're written in the 50s and 60s, and
there is

244
00:11:59,374 --> 00:12:02,948
Meghan Coreville: a gap now. We find ourselves in 2026
with a

245
00:12:02,948 --> 00:12:06,522
Meghan Coreville: gap between what people expect from
their local shelter and

246
00:12:06,522 --> 00:12:10,096
Meghan Coreville: what is actually required by their local
community or by

247
00:12:10,096 --> 00:12:13,670
Meghan Coreville: their local government. And I think that
we've done a

248
00:12:13,670 --> 00:12:17,243
Meghan Coreville: really nice job in partnership, closing
that gap here for

249
00:12:17,243 --> 00:12:20,817
Meghan Coreville: the Hamilton County residents to make
sure that we're not

250
00:12:20,817 --> 00:12:24,391
Meghan Coreville: just kind of stuck in the in the 60s
where

251
00:12:24,391 --> 00:12:27,965
Meghan Coreville: it really was a traditional dog catcher,
dog pound, very

252
00:12:27,965 --> 00:12:31,539
Meghan Coreville: transactional, not a lot of heart in
that model and

253
00:12:31,539 --> 00:12:35,113
Meghan Coreville: a lot of animals were suffering and
dying during across

254
00:12:35,113 --> 00:12:36,900
Meghan Coreville: the country during that phase

255
00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:40,565
Meghan Coreville: and during that period of time. But in
that people

256
00:12:40,565 --> 00:12:44,030
Meghan Coreville: were suffering as well. Those were
people's pets that were

257
00:12:44,030 --> 00:12:47,494
Meghan Coreville: ending up at the county, you know, the
county or

258
00:12:47,494 --> 00:12:50,959
Meghan Coreville: municipal pound at the time. And over
time, pets have

259
00:12:50,959 --> 00:12:54,424
Meghan Coreville: become so important to us as a
community. And I

260
00:12:54,424 --> 00:12:57,889
Meghan Coreville: think that, you know, one of the biggest
missions of

261
00:12:57,889 --> 00:13:01,354
Meghan Coreville: Cincinnati Animal Care is that
protection of the animals as

262
00:13:01,354 --> 00:13:01,700
Meghan Coreville: well.

263
00:13:01,700 --> 00:13:05,281
Meghan Coreville: And so with between the two agencies,
between really fulfilling

264
00:13:05,281 --> 00:13:08,861
Meghan Coreville: our role as the county animal services,
the protector of

265
00:13:08,861 --> 00:13:12,442
Meghan Coreville: the people we’re also able, with our
Humane Society mission,

266
00:13:12,442 --> 00:13:16,023
Meghan Coreville: to make sure that we're also making sure
animals are

267
00:13:16,023 --> 00:13:19,603
Meghan Coreville: getting out and, you know, being treated
fairly, being treated

268
00:13:19,603 --> 00:13:23,184
Meghan Coreville: properly, and eventually making their
way out of the shelter

269
00:13:23,184 --> 00:13:23,900
Meghan Coreville: as well.

270
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,938
Meghan Coreville: As Carolyn mentioned, as was mentioned
earlier, this is really

271
00:13:26,938 --> 00:13:29,877
Meghan Coreville: a people operation. And I think that's
something that a

272
00:13:29,877 --> 00:13:32,815
Meghan Coreville: lot of municipalities are starting to
learn. Yeah, yeah. And

273
00:13:32,815 --> 00:13:35,753
Meghan Coreville: it’s really interesting to hear you say
all of that.

274
00:13:35,753 --> 00:13:38,691
Meghan Coreville: And as frequent watchers of our show
will know, I

275
00:13:38,691 --> 00:13:41,630
Meghan Coreville: mean, it's what you're talking about is
not dissimilar from

276
00:13:41,630 --> 00:13:44,568
Meghan Coreville: what we see in a lot of different county
functions,

277
00:13:44,568 --> 00:13:47,506
Meghan Coreville: that the code was written back in the
50s and

278
00:13:47,506 --> 00:13:47,800
Meghan Coreville: 60s.

279
00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,035
Meghan Coreville: Right, and went back when towns and
counties were very

280
00:13:51,035 --> 00:13:54,269
Meghan Coreville: rural. And then you had multiple
counties in the state

281
00:13:54,269 --> 00:13:57,504
Meghan Coreville: build up into the urban counties. And
it's just a

282
00:13:57,504 --> 00:14:00,738
Meghan Coreville: different story in terms of what is
expected here in

283
00:14:00,738 --> 00:14:03,973
Meghan Coreville: Hamilton County versus what might be
expected of a county

284
00:14:03,973 --> 00:14:07,207
Meghan Coreville: government in a more rural community. So
that's the case

285
00:14:07,207 --> 00:14:10,442
Meghan Coreville: of whether you're talking about
stormwater management, housing, economic development,

286
00:14:10,442 --> 00:14:13,677
Meghan Coreville: or in this case, our dog warden and
animal control

287
00:14:13,677 --> 00:14:13,1000
Meghan Coreville: functions.

288
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,723
Jeff Alutto: So thank you. Thank you for pointing
that out. So

289
00:14:16,723 --> 00:14:19,446
Jeff Alutto: let's in terms of story time here, walk
us through

290
00:14:19,446 --> 00:14:22,169
Jeff Alutto: a typical day. Like what would Carolyn
you come into

291
00:14:22,169 --> 00:14:24,892
Jeff Alutto: the office. What are the what are some
of the

292
00:14:24,892 --> 00:14:27,614
Jeff Alutto: - And if you want to just say an average

293
00:14:27,614 --> 00:14:30,337
Jeff Alutto: day, great. If you want to focus on what
happened

294
00:14:30,337 --> 00:14:33,060
Jeff Alutto: yesterday, if it was really interesting
because I know that

295
00:14:33,060 --> 00:14:35,783
Jeff Alutto: there's a lot of stuff that goes on that
would

296
00:14:35,783 --> 00:14:36,600
Jeff Alutto: really surprise people.

297
00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:38,389
Unknown: So what are the types of things that you
see

298
00:14:38,389 --> 00:14:40,000
Unknown: happen here on a regular day in your
world?

299
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,143
Carolyn Evans: I'm actually going to defer to Meaghan
on that one

300
00:14:43,143 --> 00:14:46,286
Carolyn Evans: because she oversees operations. I think
that's going to be

301
00:14:46,286 --> 00:14:49,429
Carolyn Evans: far more interesting to people what our
operations are seeing

302
00:14:49,429 --> 00:14:50,1000
Carolyn Evans: versus at the executive level.

303
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,000
Jeff Alutto: Yeah. Meaghan, typical day. You walk you
walk in, what

304
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,000
Jeff Alutto: do you what do you hit with right when
you

305
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:56,000
Jeff Alutto: walk in the door here.

306
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,609
Meghan Coreville: Well I think this was mentioned a little
bit earlier

307
00:14:58,609 --> 00:15:01,219
Meghan Coreville: about just people don't quite understand
what goes on in

308
00:15:01,219 --> 00:15:03,828
Meghan Coreville: an animal shelter. This is a dynamic and
robust operation.

309
00:15:03,828 --> 00:15:06,438
Meghan Coreville: There's I think when we've hired people,
that's one of

310
00:15:06,438 --> 00:15:09,047
Meghan Coreville: the - when we've hired people. That's
been one of

311
00:15:09,047 --> 00:15:11,656
Meghan Coreville: the biggest, most frequent comments we
get is they're like,

312
00:15:11,656 --> 00:15:12,700
Meghan Coreville: I had no idea.

313
00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:16,225
Meghan Coreville: I had no idea that this much was
happening behind

314
00:15:16,225 --> 00:15:19,749
Meghan Coreville: the scenes. And I could really answer
that question about

315
00:15:19,749 --> 00:15:23,274
Meghan Coreville: 14 different ways, depending on what
department you're talking about.

316
00:15:23,274 --> 00:15:26,798
Meghan Coreville: But I would say we hit the ground
running immediately.

317
00:15:26,798 --> 00:15:30,323
Meghan Coreville: This is really a job of passion and
urgency, and

318
00:15:30,323 --> 00:15:33,848
Meghan Coreville: it's not unusual for us to come in in
the

319
00:15:33,848 --> 00:15:34,200
Meghan Coreville: morning,

320
00:15:34,300 --> 00:15:37,175
Meghan Coreville: whoever that first staff is, that's
usually our medical team,

321
00:15:37,175 --> 00:15:40,050
Meghan Coreville: our animal care team. They're getting in
first thing and

322
00:15:40,050 --> 00:15:42,925
Meghan Coreville: seeing, you know, we might have a dog
tied up

323
00:15:42,925 --> 00:15:45,800
Meghan Coreville: to the fence. The other day, I think it
was

324
00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,675
Meghan Coreville: on our social media, we had a suitcase
of kittens

325
00:15:48,675 --> 00:15:51,550
Meghan Coreville: that were found outside our door. So
right away, before

326
00:15:51,550 --> 00:15:54,425
Meghan Coreville: people even clock in, we’re usually
addressing some sort of

327
00:15:54,425 --> 00:15:55,000
Meghan Coreville: animal concern.

328
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,457
Meghan Coreville: If we're lucky, we're not, and we're
able to get

329
00:15:57,457 --> 00:15:59,914
Meghan Coreville: in and sort of settle into the day a bit

330
00:15:59,914 --> 00:16:02,371
Meghan Coreville: more. But we're open to the public from
1 to

331
00:16:02,371 --> 00:16:04,829
Meghan Coreville: 6 p.m., and the morning is traditionally
left for prepping,

332
00:16:04,829 --> 00:16:07,286
Meghan Coreville: getting things clean, getting things
ready for the day. But

333
00:16:07,286 --> 00:16:09,743
Meghan Coreville: we made the decision a long time ago to
keep

334
00:16:09,743 --> 00:16:12,200
Meghan Coreville: our - if we're here, we're here for the
community.

335
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,765
Meghan Coreville: So our doors are open at nine. We can't
do

336
00:16:14,765 --> 00:16:17,330
Meghan Coreville: everything like adoptions because we are
cleaning and, you know,

337
00:16:17,330 --> 00:16:19,896
Meghan Coreville: getting the animals ready. But we're
here to help and

338
00:16:19,896 --> 00:16:22,461
Meghan Coreville: we've got customers coming in from, you
know, that once

339
00:16:22,461 --> 00:16:25,026
Meghan Coreville: the doors are unlocked, we have people
coming in seeking

340
00:16:25,026 --> 00:16:27,591
Meghan Coreville: help. I think one thing that's really
unique about what

341
00:16:27,591 --> 00:16:30,157
Meghan Coreville: we do is the variety of people that are
coming

342
00:16:30,157 --> 00:16:32,722
Meghan Coreville: to us, because on one end, we've got
people that

343
00:16:32,722 --> 00:16:35,287
Meghan Coreville: are, you know, people think of animal
shelters, I think

344
00:16:35,287 --> 00:16:35,800
Meghan Coreville: of adopting.

345
00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,784
Meghan Coreville: So we've got people to come in and
they're excited.

346
00:16:38,784 --> 00:16:41,768
Meghan Coreville: It's such a great day for them. They're
excited to

347
00:16:41,768 --> 00:16:44,752
Meghan Coreville: come in and meet a new pet. But in
another

348
00:16:44,752 --> 00:16:47,735
Meghan Coreville: door 50 yards away, we've got people in
tears because

349
00:16:47,735 --> 00:16:50,719
Meghan Coreville: they're having to give up their pet. And
it's completely

350
00:16:50,719 --> 00:16:53,703
Meghan Coreville: different, you know, completely
different skill set is required from

351
00:16:53,703 --> 00:16:54,300
Meghan Coreville: our staff.

352
00:16:54,300 --> 00:16:57,464
Meghan Coreville: A completely different approach,
completely different programing. So we're really

353
00:16:57,464 --> 00:17:00,627
Meghan Coreville: firing on all cylinders and battling on
a lot of

354
00:17:00,627 --> 00:17:03,791
Meghan Coreville: fronts. I want to interject on that. I
think what

355
00:17:03,791 --> 00:17:06,955
Meghan Coreville: I really like to see is when people come
in

356
00:17:06,955 --> 00:17:10,118
Meghan Coreville: and they are in distress and thinking
that they have

357
00:17:10,118 --> 00:17:11,700
Meghan Coreville: to give up their animals,

358
00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:14,568
Meghan Coreville: when our team can really work through
that situation with

359
00:17:14,568 --> 00:17:17,435
Meghan Coreville: them, understand really what the
underlying problem is or issue

360
00:17:17,435 --> 00:17:20,303
Meghan Coreville: and see if there's another way. Is there
something else

361
00:17:20,303 --> 00:17:23,171
Meghan Coreville: we can do temporarily to bridge that gap
so you

362
00:17:23,171 --> 00:17:26,038
Meghan Coreville: don't have to give up your beloved pet.
And there

363
00:17:26,038 --> 00:17:28,906
Meghan Coreville: are many times that we can find a
solution that

364
00:17:28,906 --> 00:17:31,200
Meghan Coreville: that allows us to keep those families
together.

365
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,091
Meghan Coreville: And that's probably one of the best
things that that

366
00:17:34,091 --> 00:17:36,981
Meghan Coreville: we do as one of the most rewarding
things that

367
00:17:36,981 --> 00:17:39,872
Meghan Coreville: we do. That's awesome. So you help
people problem solve

368
00:17:39,872 --> 00:17:42,763
Meghan Coreville: as well. So another kind of public
service announcement here

369
00:17:42,763 --> 00:17:45,653
Meghan Coreville: that if you're in that situation and
you're concerned because

370
00:17:45,653 --> 00:17:48,544
Meghan Coreville: I'd imagine there's probably people out
there thinking, I don't

371
00:17:48,544 --> 00:17:49,700
Meghan Coreville: know what to do.

372
00:17:49,700 --> 00:17:52,798
Meghan Coreville: I'm, you know, I'm facing financial
difficulties, housing difficulties, what

373
00:17:52,798 --> 00:17:55,897
Meghan Coreville: have you. Or they may be one day or they

374
00:17:55,897 --> 00:17:58,995
Meghan Coreville: may be, right. And just to know that you
can

375
00:17:58,995 --> 00:18:02,093
Meghan Coreville: call you can come and stop and see you
all

376
00:18:02,093 --> 00:18:05,192
Meghan Coreville: for some for some advice and potentially
resources in terms

377
00:18:05,192 --> 00:18:08,290
Meghan Coreville: of how to keep that family together.
It's not just

378
00:18:08,290 --> 00:18:08,600
Meghan Coreville: optional.

379
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,213
Meghan Coreville: We want people to do that because we
want to

380
00:18:11,213 --> 00:18:13,826
Meghan Coreville: get ahead of it. The earlier they can
come, the

381
00:18:13,826 --> 00:18:16,439
Meghan Coreville: more the more we can help. The more
options we

382
00:18:16,439 --> 00:18:19,052
Meghan Coreville: have. Yeah, yeah. So we're all day, I
would say,

383
00:18:19,052 --> 00:18:21,665
Meghan Coreville: from the beginning to end, throughout
the day, we're interacting

384
00:18:21,665 --> 00:18:24,277
Meghan Coreville: with people for different reasons that
they may be coming

385
00:18:24,277 --> 00:18:26,890
Meghan Coreville: to the animal shelter, even a lot of
times for

386
00:18:26,890 --> 00:18:29,503
Meghan Coreville: our our supporters, our fosters and our
volunteers are they’re

387
00:18:29,503 --> 00:18:32,116
Meghan Coreville: wide awake and at the shelter first
thing in the

388
00:18:32,116 --> 00:18:32,900
Meghan Coreville: morning as well.

389
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,708
Meghan Coreville: The afternoon is really meant for those
open hours. And

390
00:18:35,708 --> 00:18:38,415
Meghan Coreville: so that really is an all hands on deck.
The

391
00:18:38,415 --> 00:18:41,123
Meghan Coreville: morning we got everything cleaned and
ready to go, and

392
00:18:41,123 --> 00:18:43,831
Meghan Coreville: that's really all of our frontline
staff. I would say

393
00:18:43,831 --> 00:18:46,538
Meghan Coreville: our management and our executive team
are trying to connect

394
00:18:46,538 --> 00:18:49,246
Meghan Coreville: those dots between those departments to
make sure everything is

395
00:18:49,246 --> 00:18:50,600
Meghan Coreville: moving, moving well, moving smoothly.

396
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,663
Meghan Coreville: We're constantly reviewing and the
operations side, our processes and

397
00:18:53,663 --> 00:18:56,526
Meghan Coreville: our systems. When you've got that many
people, you've got

398
00:18:56,526 --> 00:18:59,389
Meghan Coreville: a little over 100 employees. We've got
about 14 different

399
00:18:59,389 --> 00:19:02,252
Meghan Coreville: departments. All you have to imagine an
animal really goes

400
00:19:02,252 --> 00:19:05,115
Meghan Coreville: through all of those. An animal may be
picked up

401
00:19:05,115 --> 00:19:07,978
Meghan Coreville: by a dog warden, which is a first
department. They

402
00:19:07,978 --> 00:19:10,841
Meghan Coreville: go get checked in by our intake team,
which is

403
00:19:10,841 --> 00:19:11,700
Meghan Coreville: the second department.

404
00:19:11,700 --> 00:19:14,297
Meghan Coreville: The medical team needs to see them as a
third

405
00:19:14,297 --> 00:19:16,894
Meghan Coreville: department. Our dog behavior team or a
cat behavior team

406
00:19:16,894 --> 00:19:19,491
Meghan Coreville: may need to evaluate their behavior.
That's a fourth department.

407
00:19:19,491 --> 00:19:22,088
Meghan Coreville: The animal care team is a fifth
department is caring

408
00:19:22,088 --> 00:19:24,685
Meghan Coreville: for them. And then depending they might
go to foster.

409
00:19:24,685 --> 00:19:27,282
Meghan Coreville: Now a six department is handling that
same animal all

410
00:19:27,282 --> 00:19:29,100
Meghan Coreville: the way through to our adoption team.

411
00:19:29,100 --> 00:19:31,471
Meghan Coreville: Or our social media team might get
pictures of them.

412
00:19:31,471 --> 00:19:33,842
Meghan Coreville: So as you can imagine, this one animal,
we've got

413
00:19:33,842 --> 00:19:36,213
Meghan Coreville: almost 9000 that come in every year.
Every single animal

414
00:19:36,213 --> 00:19:38,584
Meghan Coreville: is going through that process. And it's
got to be

415
00:19:38,584 --> 00:19:40,955
Meghan Coreville: a clean handoff so that we're not
missing anything and

416
00:19:40,955 --> 00:19:43,326
Meghan Coreville: that it's we don't have too many
headaches, I guess,

417
00:19:43,326 --> 00:19:43,800
Meghan Coreville: I'm sure.

418
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:45,818
Meghan Coreville: So there's a lot going on. But that's
really kind

419
00:19:45,818 --> 00:19:47,636
Meghan Coreville: of my job is trying to make sure that
those

420
00:19:47,636 --> 00:19:49,455
Meghan Coreville: pieces all work together, and our team
is able to

421
00:19:49,455 --> 00:19:49,1000
Meghan Coreville: execute on those.

422
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,438
Jeff Alutto: No. Meaghan, and thanks for all the work
you do

423
00:19:53,438 --> 00:19:56,875
Jeff Alutto: here to keep the operations running,
running smoothly. And you

424
00:19:56,875 --> 00:20:00,312
Jeff Alutto: mentioned at one point I think you said
come into

425
00:20:00,312 --> 00:20:01,000
Jeff Alutto: the facility

426
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,019
Jeff Alutto: and so not to confuse people, but you
actually have

427
00:20:04,019 --> 00:20:07,038
Jeff Alutto: two facilities right now. Right. Two
major, you've got the

428
00:20:07,038 --> 00:20:10,057
Jeff Alutto: Colerain Avenue facility and the Dane
facility. So you can

429
00:20:10,057 --> 00:20:13,075
Jeff Alutto: just talk a little bit about the
difference between those

430
00:20:13,075 --> 00:20:16,094
Jeff Alutto: so people understand out there how the
facility function is

431
00:20:16,094 --> 00:20:16,1000
Jeff Alutto: working right now.

432
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,200
Carolyn Evans: Sure. Yeah. We have both facilities are
in northside.

433
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,383
Carolyn Evans: They are only about a mile apart. The
Colerain facility

434
00:20:23,383 --> 00:20:26,567
Carolyn Evans: is our main facility. It's the original
facility that's been

435
00:20:26,567 --> 00:20:29,750
Carolyn Evans: the county shelter for 60 years. It's
where most people

436
00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:32,933
Carolyn Evans: are familiar with and where they where
they come. All

437
00:20:32,933 --> 00:20:36,117
Carolyn Evans: of our dog operations are run out of.
I'm sorry.

438
00:20:36,117 --> 00:20:39,300
Carolyn Evans: Most of our dog operations are run out
of there.

439
00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:42,383
Carolyn Evans: Warden operations are run from there.
But our cat, our

440
00:20:42,383 --> 00:20:45,467
Carolyn Evans: cat program is over here at the Dane
facility. And

441
00:20:45,467 --> 00:20:48,550
Carolyn Evans: then we have overflow. There are just so
many animals

442
00:20:48,550 --> 00:20:51,633
Carolyn Evans: at the county shelter right now. The
original shelter has

443
00:20:51,633 --> 00:20:54,717
Carolyn Evans: housing, humane housing for 100 dogs. At
any given time,

444
00:20:54,717 --> 00:20:57,800
Carolyn Evans: we could have 250 dogs in our care. So
the

445
00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,883
Carolyn Evans: county renovated the space over here for
us about three

446
00:21:00,883 --> 00:21:01,500
Carolyn Evans: years ago.

447
00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:03,741
Carolyn Evans: And so we've been operating our dog
program out of

448
00:21:03,741 --> 00:21:05,983
Carolyn Evans: the two facilities for about three years
now. And then

449
00:21:05,983 --> 00:21:08,000
Carolyn Evans: the Cat program is out of the Dane
facility.

450
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,339
Jeff Alutto: And I just want to thank you for both of

451
00:21:11,339 --> 00:21:14,678
Jeff Alutto: you, for as we've gone through some of
these facility

452
00:21:14,678 --> 00:21:18,017
Jeff Alutto: transitions, you have been a a constant
force and a

453
00:21:18,017 --> 00:21:21,356
Jeff Alutto: voice for making sure that the animals
are well cared

454
00:21:21,356 --> 00:21:24,695
Jeff Alutto: for here in Hamilton County, because we
don't from a

455
00:21:24,695 --> 00:21:27,700
Jeff Alutto: county perspective, we don't see it all
the time.

456
00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:31,110
Jeff Alutto: And, you know, we have budgets to
monitor that type

457
00:21:31,110 --> 00:21:34,520
Jeff Alutto: of thing. But for the Hamilton County
public out there

458
00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,930
Jeff Alutto: wondering who is a voice for the animals
in this

459
00:21:37,930 --> 00:21:41,339
Jeff Alutto: community, we hear that loud and clear.
If there's something

460
00:21:41,339 --> 00:21:44,749
Jeff Alutto: that this facility needs or the Colerain
facility needs, you're

461
00:21:44,749 --> 00:21:48,159
Jeff Alutto: constantly reaching out and making sure
that we're aware of

462
00:21:48,159 --> 00:21:48,500
Jeff Alutto: that.

463
00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:51,514
Jeff Alutto: And then we work together to try to
address those

464
00:21:51,514 --> 00:21:54,529
Jeff Alutto: as best as possible, including planning
for a new facility

465
00:21:54,529 --> 00:21:57,543
Jeff Alutto: down the road, which we've bought some
property now, and

466
00:21:57,543 --> 00:22:00,557
Jeff Alutto: hopefully we'll be getting started on
the planning for that

467
00:22:00,557 --> 00:22:03,571
Jeff Alutto: soon, so that in a time in the not too

468
00:22:03,571 --> 00:22:06,586
Jeff Alutto: distant future that both of these
facilities merge into one

469
00:22:06,586 --> 00:22:09,600
Jeff Alutto: that is a state of the art home for
animals.

470
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:13,687
Jeff Alutto: And as you said earlier, Carolyn is just
a better

471
00:22:13,687 --> 00:22:17,774
Jeff Alutto: home for the animals and humans that
that need to

472
00:22:17,774 --> 00:22:19,000
Jeff Alutto: use those facilities.

473
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,548
Carolyn Evans: Yeah. Certainly for the animals no
doubt. I can't overestimate

474
00:22:22,548 --> 00:22:26,097
Carolyn Evans: how important the facilities are.
Purpose built facility to support

475
00:22:26,097 --> 00:22:29,645
Carolyn Evans: the type of programing that that we're
offering to Hamilton

476
00:22:29,645 --> 00:22:29,1000
Carolyn Evans: County.

477
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,467
Meghan Coreville: It's like laws in the 50s and 60 if the

478
00:22:33,467 --> 00:22:35,200
Meghan Coreville: building was outdated as well.

479
00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,388
Carolyn Evans: Right? Yeah. And you know, the toll it
takes on

480
00:22:38,388 --> 00:22:41,576
Carolyn Evans: animals is undoubtable. So being able to
- everything that

481
00:22:41,576 --> 00:22:44,765
Carolyn Evans: we've done to improve those facilities
and to expand facilities

482
00:22:44,765 --> 00:22:47,953
Carolyn Evans: has been really critical to life saving,
quite frankly. I

483
00:22:47,953 --> 00:22:51,141
Carolyn Evans: mean, the bottom line is, if animals are
held in

484
00:22:51,141 --> 00:22:54,329
Carolyn Evans: these types of environments where we
can't provide the type

485
00:22:54,329 --> 00:22:57,518
Carolyn Evans: of enrichment that they need or the type
of environment

486
00:22:57,518 --> 00:23:00,706
Carolyn Evans: that they need to remain sane in their -
while

487
00:23:00,706 --> 00:23:02,300
Carolyn Evans: they're in the animal shelter.

488
00:23:02,300 --> 00:23:05,221
Carolyn Evans: It can lead to decisions that none of us
want

489
00:23:05,221 --> 00:23:08,141
Carolyn Evans: to have to make. We do not ever. We have

490
00:23:08,141 --> 00:23:11,062
Carolyn Evans: never and nor will we ever euthanize an
animal for

491
00:23:11,062 --> 00:23:13,983
Carolyn Evans: space or euthanize an animal out of
convenience because, you

492
00:23:13,983 --> 00:23:16,903
Carolyn Evans: know, it's just it's easier to move an
animal. But

493
00:23:16,903 --> 00:23:19,824
Carolyn Evans: we have had to make some really tough
decisions around

494
00:23:19,824 --> 00:23:20,700
Carolyn Evans: quality of life.

495
00:23:20,700 --> 00:23:24,156
Carolyn Evans: We've had to make decisions when we have
an animal

496
00:23:24,156 --> 00:23:27,612
Carolyn Evans: that is at languishing in a kennel for
weeks or

497
00:23:27,612 --> 00:23:31,068
Carolyn Evans: months, and this is an animal that is
not getting

498
00:23:31,068 --> 00:23:34,525
Carolyn Evans: noticed, not having opportunities to get
out and foster or

499
00:23:34,525 --> 00:23:37,981
Carolyn Evans: people coming to adopt this animal. At
some point, it's

500
00:23:37,981 --> 00:23:40,400
Carolyn Evans: no longer humane to keep that animal.

501
00:23:40,500 --> 00:23:43,214
Carolyn Evans: We know that an animal is never going to
do

502
00:23:43,214 --> 00:23:45,929
Carolyn Evans: better in a shelter than it will in a
home,

503
00:23:45,929 --> 00:23:48,643
Carolyn Evans: even though we do everything we can to
provide a

504
00:23:48,643 --> 00:23:51,357
Carolyn Evans: good environment and provide enrichment
for these animals, we need

505
00:23:51,357 --> 00:23:54,071
Carolyn Evans: to get them out of here. But when they
are

506
00:23:54,071 --> 00:23:56,786
Carolyn Evans: here, it's important to have appropriate
facilities so that they

507
00:23:56,786 --> 00:23:59,500
Carolyn Evans: can - we can give them the best, the
best

508
00:23:59,500 --> 00:24:01,400
Carolyn Evans: stay possible with the county animal
shelter.

509
00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:05,241
Jeff Alutto: Well, and that's something I think maybe
we can pivot

510
00:24:05,241 --> 00:24:08,981
Jeff Alutto: to. Again, we've done a couple of PSAs
during the

511
00:24:08,981 --> 00:24:12,722
Jeff Alutto: course of this show, but the next place
where I

512
00:24:12,722 --> 00:24:16,463
Jeff Alutto: think you as a Hamilton County resident
can help out

513
00:24:16,463 --> 00:24:20,204
Jeff Alutto: is the fostering program. Right. And you
mentioned to Carolyn

514
00:24:20,204 --> 00:24:23,944
Jeff Alutto: that that the environment that dogs
have, in particular dogs

515
00:24:23,944 --> 00:24:27,685
Jeff Alutto: have to live in when they're here and
being around

516
00:24:27,685 --> 00:24:31,426
Jeff Alutto: all the other animals and the noise, the
stress levels,

517
00:24:31,426 --> 00:24:31,800
Jeff Alutto: etc..

518
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:36,100
Jeff Alutto: And Hamilton County residents, even if
they're not in a

519
00:24:36,100 --> 00:24:40,400
Jeff Alutto: position to adopt an animal, can do
something on a

520
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:44,700
Jeff Alutto: day to day basis. To help out with this,
you

521
00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:48,1000
Jeff Alutto: want to talk a little bit about the
fostering program?

522
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,467
Meghan Coreville: Yeah, I. Yeah. Our foster program has
been one of

523
00:24:51,467 --> 00:24:53,933
Meghan Coreville: our key life saving programs that we
added in 2020

524
00:24:53,933 --> 00:24:56,400
Meghan Coreville: to the Hamilton County Animal Services
programing our foster program.

525
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,032
Meghan Coreville: We try to make it as easy as possible.
We

526
00:24:59,032 --> 00:25:01,665
Meghan Coreville: ask our residents of Hamilton County,
anybody in our region,

527
00:25:01,665 --> 00:25:04,297
Meghan Coreville: you don't have to just live in Hamilton
County. You

528
00:25:04,297 --> 00:25:06,929
Meghan Coreville: can be in other counties. Anybody that
wants to help

529
00:25:06,929 --> 00:25:09,562
Meghan Coreville: to come on down and take an animal for
any

530
00:25:09,562 --> 00:25:12,194
Meghan Coreville: amount of time, you could foster cats,
dogs. If we

531
00:25:12,194 --> 00:25:14,300
Meghan Coreville: have other animals like rabbits, guinea
pigs, chickens,

532
00:25:14,300 --> 00:25:16,985
Meghan Coreville: You can take them home and foster. And
like I

533
00:25:16,985 --> 00:25:19,670
Meghan Coreville: said, we try to make it easy and
noncommittal. If

534
00:25:19,670 --> 00:25:22,355
Meghan Coreville: you want to take an animal out just for
the

535
00:25:22,355 --> 00:25:25,040
Meghan Coreville: day, just to give it a break from the
noise,

536
00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,725
Meghan Coreville: the chaos of the shelter, we call those
day trips,

537
00:25:27,725 --> 00:25:30,410
Meghan Coreville: and people can come down and take out a
dog,

538
00:25:30,410 --> 00:25:33,095
Meghan Coreville: take them to the banks, take them to a
take

539
00:25:33,095 --> 00:25:33,900
Meghan Coreville: them to work,

540
00:25:33,900 --> 00:25:36,454
Meghan Coreville: if they are able to have pets there,
they could

541
00:25:36,454 --> 00:25:39,008
Meghan Coreville: come down and take an animal just for
one night.

542
00:25:39,008 --> 00:25:41,562
Meghan Coreville: That's helpful as well. We have people
that take it

543
00:25:41,562 --> 00:25:44,116
Meghan Coreville: for the weekend. We have people take
them for weeks

544
00:25:44,116 --> 00:25:46,670
Meghan Coreville: or months at a time as well. So we
really

545
00:25:46,670 --> 00:25:49,224
Meghan Coreville: like to work with our community members
with whatever they're

546
00:25:49,224 --> 00:25:51,778
Meghan Coreville: able to do and try to find the right fit

547
00:25:51,778 --> 00:25:52,800
Meghan Coreville: for them as well.

548
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,357
Meghan Coreville: Find the right either a species fit or a
personality

549
00:25:55,357 --> 00:25:57,914
Meghan Coreville: fit to make sure they can help. But it
really

550
00:25:57,914 --> 00:26:00,471
Meghan Coreville: does, I mean, the kind of the old cliche
in

551
00:26:00,471 --> 00:26:03,029
Meghan Coreville: our industry as it saves two lives.
You're not only

552
00:26:03,029 --> 00:26:05,586
Meghan Coreville: helping the animal that you are taking
into your home,

553
00:26:05,586 --> 00:26:08,143
Meghan Coreville: you're also opening up a kennel so that
we can

554
00:26:08,143 --> 00:26:10,700
Meghan Coreville: take in another, you know, help out
another animal too.

555
00:26:10,700 --> 00:26:13,408
Jeff Alutto: And that's great. And it was one of you
that

556
00:26:13,408 --> 00:26:16,117
Jeff Alutto: told me that there were actually studies
out there that

557
00:26:16,117 --> 00:26:18,825
Jeff Alutto: show that the stress - that leaves and
comes back

558
00:26:18,825 --> 00:26:21,533
Jeff Alutto: - an animal that leaves and comes back,
that the

559
00:26:21,533 --> 00:26:24,242
Jeff Alutto: stress levels in that they measure, I
guess the hormone

560
00:26:24,242 --> 00:26:26,950
Jeff Alutto: cortisol, the cardinal levels. Yeah.
There's come down significantly after

561
00:26:26,950 --> 00:26:29,658
Jeff Alutto: they've been out on one of these day
trips or

562
00:26:29,658 --> 00:26:30,200
Jeff Alutto: foster visits.

563
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:33,155
Jeff Alutto: I know I was thinking about adopting a
dog at

564
00:26:33,155 --> 00:26:36,110
Jeff Alutto: one point in time, wasn't ultimately
didn't work out. But

565
00:26:36,110 --> 00:26:39,066
Jeff Alutto: I remember we had found this dog and you
said,

566
00:26:39,066 --> 00:26:42,021
Jeff Alutto: take it just for the night, try it out.
So

567
00:26:42,021 --> 00:26:44,976
Jeff Alutto: and I just remember taking this dog that
was, you

568
00:26:44,976 --> 00:26:47,931
Jeff Alutto: know, extremely hyper and you could tell
it was a

569
00:26:47,931 --> 00:26:50,000
Jeff Alutto: bit stressed from being in the facility.

570
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,861
Jeff Alutto: And I remember the next day coming into
my son's

571
00:26:52,861 --> 00:26:55,723
Jeff Alutto: room and it's just sleeping in the bed
with my

572
00:26:55,723 --> 00:26:58,584
Jeff Alutto: son like it had been there for for ten
years.

573
00:26:58,584 --> 00:27:01,446
Jeff Alutto: And even when we brought it back was
just much

574
00:27:01,446 --> 00:27:04,307
Jeff Alutto: lower, much lower key. And so I can only
imagine

575
00:27:04,307 --> 00:27:07,168
Jeff Alutto: that just that little bit of time
helped. And also

576
00:27:07,168 --> 00:27:10,030
Jeff Alutto: for people that are thinking about this,
what you guys

577
00:27:10,030 --> 00:27:12,891
Jeff Alutto: educated me on was the simple fact of
living with

578
00:27:12,891 --> 00:27:15,752
Jeff Alutto: a family, even for a day, gives you guys
the

579
00:27:15,752 --> 00:27:18,614
Jeff Alutto: ability to put on a tag and put on the

580
00:27:18,614 --> 00:27:18,900
Jeff Alutto: website,

581
00:27:18,900 --> 00:27:21,481
Jeff Alutto: this dog does well with cats, this dog
does well

582
00:27:21,481 --> 00:27:24,063
Jeff Alutto: with young kids. And that's something
that these folks look

583
00:27:24,063 --> 00:27:26,644
Jeff Alutto: at when they're looking to adopt. So if
you foster

584
00:27:26,644 --> 00:27:29,226
Jeff Alutto: for a day, you can - it get us all

585
00:27:29,226 --> 00:27:29,1000
Jeff Alutto: kinds of information.

586
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,630
Meghan Coreville: Exactly. It's really helpful for us just
to have somebody

587
00:27:32,630 --> 00:27:35,261
Meghan Coreville: get that animal out. And you're right.
Just one of

588
00:27:35,261 --> 00:27:37,891
Meghan Coreville: the things we talk about in orientation
with new employees

589
00:27:37,891 --> 00:27:40,522
Meghan Coreville: is try to kind of put them in the shoes

590
00:27:40,522 --> 00:27:42,100
Meghan Coreville: of the animals that are here.

591
00:27:42,100 --> 00:27:45,028
Meghan Coreville: I can't imagine living here. I can't
imagine living at

592
00:27:45,028 --> 00:27:47,955
Meghan Coreville: the shelter. And, you know, the lights
don't always go

593
00:27:47,955 --> 00:27:50,883
Meghan Coreville: off completely. There's always noise
throughout the night and dogs

594
00:27:50,883 --> 00:27:53,810
Meghan Coreville: are barking. Imagine just not getting a
good night of

595
00:27:53,810 --> 00:27:56,738
Meghan Coreville: sleep for days and weeks and months at a
time.

596
00:27:56,738 --> 00:27:59,665
Meghan Coreville: You are not necessarily going to be your
best when

597
00:27:59,665 --> 00:28:02,300
Meghan Coreville: it does come time to meet a new family.

598
00:28:02,300 --> 00:28:04,800
Meghan Coreville: And so if we can get those animals out,
I

599
00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,300
Meghan Coreville: think the number one thing we can do for
them

600
00:28:07,300 --> 00:28:09,800
Meghan Coreville: is allow them to sleep. We get a lot of

601
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,300
Meghan Coreville: people that say they took an animal out,
they took

602
00:28:12,300 --> 00:28:14,800
Meghan Coreville: a dog home especially, and they just
fell asleep on

603
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,300
Meghan Coreville: the couch because these dogs and these
cats are just

604
00:28:17,300 --> 00:28:19,343
Meghan Coreville: They're living in a high stress
environment. So getting them

605
00:28:19,343 --> 00:28:21,387
Meghan Coreville: out, even for a short amount of time,
can make

606
00:28:21,387 --> 00:28:21,1000
Meghan Coreville: a big difference.

607
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,606
Carolyn Evans: Well, and Meaghan, you mentioned that
was one of the

608
00:28:25,606 --> 00:28:29,212
Carolyn Evans: critical life saving programs that we
brought in. And I

609
00:28:29,212 --> 00:28:32,818
Carolyn Evans: think it's really important to recognize
that when we're able

610
00:28:32,818 --> 00:28:36,424
Carolyn Evans: to, when we're able to move animals out
of the

611
00:28:36,424 --> 00:28:40,030
Carolyn Evans: shelter and house them in a foster home
with a

612
00:28:40,030 --> 00:28:43,636
Carolyn Evans: foster care giver, what we're doing is
we're basically expanding

613
00:28:43,636 --> 00:28:45,800
Carolyn Evans: the capacity of the animal shelter.

614
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,555
Carolyn Evans: We're expanding the walls, we're
expanding animal care in our

615
00:28:48,555 --> 00:28:51,310
Carolyn Evans: community beyond the four walls of the
shelter. And we're

616
00:28:51,310 --> 00:28:54,065
Carolyn Evans: making the community part of the animal
shelter. We're making

617
00:28:54,065 --> 00:28:56,820
Carolyn Evans: the community part of the solution. And
that is why

618
00:28:56,820 --> 00:28:59,575
Carolyn Evans: we're able to accommodate more animals.
And we're able to

619
00:28:59,575 --> 00:29:02,329
Carolyn Evans: keep animals longer, because we have
these opportunities to house

620
00:29:02,329 --> 00:29:05,084
Carolyn Evans: them in different ways where they're not
mentally deteriorating and

621
00:29:05,084 --> 00:29:07,839
Carolyn Evans: where we're getting more information on
them so they can

622
00:29:07,839 --> 00:29:10,594
Carolyn Evans: show better, and we can provide more
information and do

623
00:29:10,594 --> 00:29:13,349
Carolyn Evans: better matches when we do, when we do
have an

624
00:29:13,349 --> 00:29:13,900
Carolyn Evans: interested adopter.

625
00:29:13,900 --> 00:29:16,000
Carolyn Evans: So those things are really critically
important.

626
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,200
Jeff Alutto: Yeah. So when people read the news or
they see

627
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,400
Jeff Alutto: a social media alert that that the
shelter is on

628
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,600
Jeff Alutto: capacity. Code red capacity alert, you
don't just have to

629
00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,800
Jeff Alutto: shake your head and think, oh, that's
too bad. You

630
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:32,000
Jeff Alutto: can actually be a part of the solution
to this.

631
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,611
Carolyn Evans: Yeah. And I will say we have people all
the

632
00:29:34,611 --> 00:29:37,222
Carolyn Evans: time, and I understand it, that don't
want to come

633
00:29:37,222 --> 00:29:39,833
Carolyn Evans: to the shelter, don't want to adopt, say
they can't

634
00:29:39,833 --> 00:29:41,400
Carolyn Evans: even foster because they feel guilty.

635
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,369
Carolyn Evans: I work a full time job, I have kids,
we're

636
00:29:44,369 --> 00:29:47,338
Carolyn Evans: at soccer practice, you know, whatever,
whatever is consuming your

637
00:29:47,338 --> 00:29:50,308
Carolyn Evans: life. All of that is better than what an
animal

638
00:29:50,308 --> 00:29:53,277
Carolyn Evans: has here. And I say that with love,
knowing that

639
00:29:53,277 --> 00:29:56,246
Carolyn Evans: our staff and our volunteers do the very
best that

640
00:29:56,246 --> 00:29:59,215
Carolyn Evans: we can for these animals. They're still
living in a

641
00:29:59,215 --> 00:30:00,700
Carolyn Evans: candle 23 hours a day.

642
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,165
Carolyn Evans: If I were that animal, I'd much rather
sleep in

643
00:30:03,165 --> 00:30:05,529
Carolyn Evans: a kennel ten hours a day in your home,
knowing

644
00:30:05,529 --> 00:30:07,894
Carolyn Evans: that you're coming home at the end of
the day.

645
00:30:07,894 --> 00:30:10,259
Carolyn Evans: And I get to spend time with that family
on

646
00:30:10,259 --> 00:30:12,624
Carolyn Evans: a couch, on a bed with people getting
that attention.

647
00:30:12,624 --> 00:30:14,988
Carolyn Evans: So that's something I think is really
important for people

648
00:30:14,988 --> 00:30:17,353
Carolyn Evans: to understand that the alternative of
living in the shelter

649
00:30:17,353 --> 00:30:19,718
Carolyn Evans: is not better than the alternative in
your home, even

650
00:30:19,718 --> 00:30:20,900
Carolyn Evans: if you're a busy family.

651
00:30:20,900 --> 00:30:25,200
Jeff Alutto: Yeah. Good point. Excellent point. So.
So before we go,

652
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:26,500
Jeff Alutto: anything else you guys want to hit on?

653
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,374
Meghan Coreville: I think I would just add kind of
building on

654
00:30:29,374 --> 00:30:32,148
Meghan Coreville: what we, what you were just saying,
Carolyn, is that,

655
00:30:32,148 --> 00:30:34,923
Meghan Coreville: you know, having a life saving animal
shelter in your

656
00:30:34,923 --> 00:30:37,697
Meghan Coreville: community is it can't just fall on the
humane society

657
00:30:37,697 --> 00:30:40,471
Meghan Coreville: or the organization that's doing it
can't just fall in

658
00:30:40,471 --> 00:30:43,245
Meghan Coreville: the Hamilton County government. It can't
just fall in Cincinnati

659
00:30:43,245 --> 00:30:43,800
Meghan Coreville: Animal Care.

660
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,414
Meghan Coreville: It's got to be everybody. We need as
many people

661
00:30:46,414 --> 00:30:49,027
Meghan Coreville: pitching in as possible, and we talk
about the best

662
00:30:49,027 --> 00:30:51,641
Meghan Coreville: ways to get involved are to adopt, to
volunteer, to

663
00:30:51,641 --> 00:30:54,255
Meghan Coreville: foster, to donate. And if you can't do
any of

664
00:30:54,255 --> 00:30:56,868
Meghan Coreville: those things, to just share, follow us
on social media

665
00:30:56,868 --> 00:30:59,482
Meghan Coreville: and share the word. Spread the word.
Because if you

666
00:30:59,482 --> 00:31:02,095
Meghan Coreville: might press share and somebody in
another part of the

667
00:31:02,095 --> 00:31:04,709
Meghan Coreville: county sees that and decides they're
going to come down

668
00:31:04,709 --> 00:31:06,800
Meghan Coreville: and adopt or foster or donate or
volunteer.

669
00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:08,000
Meghan Coreville: So we need everyone to participate.

670
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,000
Jeff Alutto: Yeah, yeah. Carolyn, anything?

671
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,965
Carolyn Evans: I would just add to that, I think the
power

672
00:31:12,965 --> 00:31:15,929
Carolyn Evans: of advocacy is so strong in this work
that we

673
00:31:15,929 --> 00:31:18,894
Carolyn Evans: do. When I hop on NextDoor, 90% of the
posts

674
00:31:18,894 --> 00:31:21,859
Carolyn Evans: are about animals, people. That really
resonates with people. And

675
00:31:21,859 --> 00:31:24,824
Carolyn Evans: it really, it really travels. I do want
to tell

676
00:31:24,824 --> 00:31:27,788
Carolyn Evans: you a story about a dog that we had
named

677
00:31:27,788 --> 00:31:30,753
Carolyn Evans: Marcus, and he was with us for about a
year,

678
00:31:30,753 --> 00:31:33,718
Carolyn Evans: and he was an animal that was really
deteriorating after

679
00:31:33,718 --> 00:31:35,200
Carolyn Evans: a year at the shelter.

680
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,920
Carolyn Evans: And he had a lot of what we call
stacking

681
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:40,640
Carolyn Evans: barriers, reasons why he wasn't getting
adopted. He needed to

682
00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:43,360
Carolyn Evans: be in a single animal home. He couldn't
be with

683
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,080
Carolyn Evans: cats, he couldn't be with kids. And we
got to

684
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,800
Carolyn Evans: the point where we were going to have to
make

685
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,520
Carolyn Evans: a very difficult euthanasia decision
about him because of his

686
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,240
Carolyn Evans: quality of life, as we do with all
animals, we

687
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:55,600
Carolyn Evans: pulled out all the stops.

688
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,127
Carolyn Evans: We did a major social media campaign and
his for

689
00:31:58,127 --> 00:32:00,654
Carolyn Evans: some reason really, really took off.
There were a lot

690
00:32:00,654 --> 00:32:03,181
Carolyn Evans: of volunteers and staff who really had
taken him under

691
00:32:03,181 --> 00:32:05,708
Carolyn Evans: their wing as a dog, that they wanted to
get

692
00:32:05,708 --> 00:32:08,235
Carolyn Evans: out of the shelter, and this dog had
been missing

693
00:32:08,235 --> 00:32:10,762
Carolyn Evans: for a year and a half. We found out he

694
00:32:10,762 --> 00:32:13,289
Carolyn Evans: had his owners had been looking for him
for a

695
00:32:13,289 --> 00:32:14,300
Carolyn Evans: year and a half.

696
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,097
Carolyn Evans: They went to another shelter, but they
didn't come here.

697
00:32:17,097 --> 00:32:19,793
Carolyn Evans: So I think it's important for people to
understand that.

698
00:32:19,793 --> 00:32:22,490
Carolyn Evans: The Hamilton County Animal Shelter,
Cincinnati Animal Care, is where

699
00:32:22,490 --> 00:32:25,187
Carolyn Evans: stray dogs need to come and where stray
dogs come.

700
00:32:25,187 --> 00:32:27,883
Carolyn Evans: So if you're looking for your animal,
come to the

701
00:32:27,883 --> 00:32:30,580
Carolyn Evans: county shelter. This dog was almost
euthanized, but a friend

702
00:32:30,580 --> 00:32:33,276
Carolyn Evans: of a friend saw somebody post that had
been shared

703
00:32:33,276 --> 00:32:35,973
Carolyn Evans: a thousand times, and they came the day
he was,

704
00:32:35,973 --> 00:32:38,400
Carolyn Evans: the day before he was going to be
euthanized.

705
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:42,047
Jeff Alutto: Well, so another great reason. Yeah. And
to get involved

706
00:32:42,047 --> 00:32:45,694
Jeff Alutto: in the foster program, because the more
you expand the

707
00:32:45,694 --> 00:32:49,341
Jeff Alutto: walls of the shelter, the longer you can
keep animals

708
00:32:49,341 --> 00:32:52,988
Jeff Alutto: and they don't or wouldn't be subjected
to euthanasia at

709
00:32:52,988 --> 00:32:56,635
Jeff Alutto: the end just because they couldn't get
placed. So that's

710
00:32:56,635 --> 00:32:57,000
Jeff Alutto: fantastic.

711
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,000
Carolyn Evans: And again, it's important to reiterate
it. We are not

712
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,800
Carolyn Evans: making that decision because of space.

713
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:04,561
Carolyn Evans: We are making that decision because it
is no longer

714
00:33:04,561 --> 00:33:07,321
Carolyn Evans: humane to keep that animal in that
environment. When there's

715
00:33:07,321 --> 00:33:10,082
Carolyn Evans: no prospect of an outcome, positive
outcome for that animal.

716
00:33:10,082 --> 00:33:12,842
Carolyn Evans: A lot of times we want to keep them and

717
00:33:12,842 --> 00:33:15,603
Carolyn Evans: it's for us, it's not for the animal. So
that's

718
00:33:15,603 --> 00:33:18,363
Carolyn Evans: really important. And one other thing I
want to say

719
00:33:18,363 --> 00:33:21,124
Carolyn Evans: is I think there is a misconception
about the animal

720
00:33:21,124 --> 00:33:21,400
Carolyn Evans: shelter.

721
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,003
Carolyn Evans: A lot of people think it's a sad place.
We've

722
00:33:24,003 --> 00:33:26,605
Carolyn Evans: certainly done everything we can to
transform the Hamilton County

723
00:33:26,605 --> 00:33:29,208
Carolyn Evans: animal shelter from a place of despair
to a place

724
00:33:29,208 --> 00:33:31,811
Carolyn Evans: of hope. And if there are people that
care about

725
00:33:31,811 --> 00:33:34,414
Carolyn Evans: animals and they don't want to come to
the animal

726
00:33:34,414 --> 00:33:37,016
Carolyn Evans: shelter because they think it's a sad
place, the animals

727
00:33:37,016 --> 00:33:39,619
Carolyn Evans: don't need us to feel sorry for them
because it's

728
00:33:39,619 --> 00:33:40,400
Carolyn Evans: a sad place.

729
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:42,200
Carolyn Evans: The animals need us to come here and
support the

730
00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,000
Carolyn Evans: work that we're doing. So it's not a sad
place.

731
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,211
Jeff Alutto: Yeah, yeah. Well, I just want to thank
both of

732
00:33:47,211 --> 00:33:50,100
Jeff Alutto: you again for all the work that you do.

733
00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:53,889
Jeff Alutto: again, Carolyn, want to thank you for
all the work

734
00:33:53,889 --> 00:33:57,679
Jeff Alutto: you've done as CEO here. Meaghan, thank
you for all

735
00:33:57,679 --> 00:34:01,468
Jeff Alutto: of your work in terms of the operations
of the

736
00:34:01,468 --> 00:34:04,500
Jeff Alutto: shelter. And this is just a fantastic
organization.

737
00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:07,882
Unknown: Really appreciate your time being here,
emphasizing the partnership and

738
00:34:07,882 --> 00:34:11,265
Unknown: emphasizing what residents of the county
can do to help

739
00:34:11,265 --> 00:34:14,647
Unknown: animals and people in their community.
So thanks so much

740
00:34:14,647 --> 00:34:16,000
Unknown: for being here today.

741
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,182
Carolyn Evans: Yeah. Thanks, Jeff. Yeah. Thank you. We
appreciate your partnership,

742
00:34:19,182 --> 00:34:22,364
Carolyn Evans: your leadership and your belief in us.
And we appreciate

743
00:34:22,364 --> 00:34:25,545
Carolyn Evans: the community's belief in us as well and
for being

744
00:34:25,545 --> 00:34:26,500
Carolyn Evans: part of it.

745
00:34:26,500 --> 00:34:30,150
Jeff Alutto: So thank you for that. You're very
welcome. And thank

746
00:34:30,150 --> 00:34:33,800
Jeff Alutto: you to all of you who are loyal
listeners. Just

747
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,450
Jeff Alutto: remember that Cincinnati Animal Care is
about so much more

748
00:34:37,450 --> 00:34:41,100
Jeff Alutto: for finding homes for pets, it's about
and not only

749
00:34:41,100 --> 00:34:44,750
Jeff Alutto: about protecting public safety, but it's
about keeping families together

750
00:34:44,750 --> 00:34:48,400
Jeff Alutto: and giving thousands of animals and
people a second chance.

751
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,868
Jeff Alutto: So again, I encourage all of you to
follow us

752
00:34:51,868 --> 00:34:55,335
Jeff Alutto: on all of our places where you can
finally even

753
00:34:55,335 --> 00:34:58,803
Jeff Alutto: know where where I am on the agenda
anymore. But

754
00:34:58,803 --> 00:35:02,271
Jeff Alutto: go to our website. Hamilton county,
Hamilton county, Ohio. Gov.

755
00:35:02,271 --> 00:35:05,739
Jeff Alutto: Go to the county administrator's web
page and you can

756
00:35:05,739 --> 00:35:09,206
Jeff Alutto: find out how to follow us and how to
download

757
00:35:09,206 --> 00:35:09,900
Jeff Alutto: our podcast.

758
00:35:10,100 --> 00:35:12,837
Jeff Alutto: And we really look forward to seeing you
next time

759
00:35:12,837 --> 00:35:15,300
Jeff Alutto: on Heart and Hustle in Hamilton County.
Thank you.