Holmes County dog warden reports strong year despite challenges

The past year proved to have its challenges for Jonathan Beam and the crew at the Holmes County Dog Warden & Adoption Agency, but he told the Holmes County commissioners he was pleased with where things stand heading into 2026.

The office responded to 159 complaints throughout 2025, a number Beam said was down from around 225 in 2024.

“I would say we had more citations than charges this year,” Beam said.

He noted that there were 19 cases of cruelty charges, cases he said included dog bites and dangerous dogs. That was one number that had risen over the prior year.

“Those cases took a lot more investigation time on our end, and some of them are still working their way through the court system,” Beam said, adding they also had more welfare and dog bite calls this past year.

The office also received 16 more cruelty charges than last year, something he said they needed to track to see if there are any correlations.

“Those also take a lot of investigative time to work through,” Beam said.

The office had 432 dog intakes this past year, down from more than 480 dogs in 2024.

Beam said they took in fewer strays and surrenders this past year, noting that some of the cruelty case dogs must remain in the system for quite a while, which takes up much of the 14-cage kennel's space.

“That’s kennel space where we could be taking in more surrenders,” Beam said, adding that there were times when they doubled up dogs in cages when possible. The average number of dogs per day was 14.1, meaning that on most days the kennel was full. In the past couple of weeks, there has been an average of just 10 dogs.

Beam also reported they have a 97.5% live release rate, meaning the euthanization process was rarely used during the past year.

“We only euthanize dogs for a couple reasons,” Beam said. “We haven’t had to (euthanize) for space since I’ve been here. We only euthanize if they have anger issues or are aggressive, and we don’t feel comfortable putting them back into the public.”

He did say one other reason they would choose to euthanize an animal is if it was severely injured or sick.

“Euthanizing of adoptable dogs doesn’t happen,” Beam said.

One unique map Beam shared with the commissioners was one showing where his office was picking up stray dogs. They chart where and when the dog was picked up and whether it was male or female.

“It gives us a better idea of where our dogs are coming in from,” Beam said.

The department produced 62 spay and neuter procedures, with a goal of performing 70 set at the beginning of the year. There were six dangerous dog designations, and volunteers logged a whopping 569 hours of service in 2025, time spent walking, exercising and communicating with the dogs.

Beam reported they received $29,000-plus in medical donations, something he said was a high-water mark.

They also have accumulated sponsorships with 13 of the 14 kennels, with the 14th coming soon. The office also saw sponsorship donations provided to cover 400 vaccinations.

Beam said Holmes County has many unwanted dogs, and people aren’t spaying and neutering, often because they can’t afford to.

“In a perfect world, my goals would be not to send a dog out into the community unless it was vetted,” Beam said.

Commissioner Dave Hall said he has called around to counties similar in size to Holmes County and found that Holmes County’s dog warden staff is smaller in number than most.

Beam said they have made due thanks to solid time management, along with one other major factor.

“We’re unique in that we are all trained to do the same things,” Beam said. “If I’m out, we’re not going to miss a beat.”

“Most dog wardens don’t do everything you do,” Hall said to Beam, who responded by stating, “We all like to get out into the community. We have enough to manage what we have, but there is no growth opportunity.”

Beam said the goals for 2026 include continuing to develop the Pet Fund Grant program for spaying and neutering and creating a voucher system with local veterinarians.

The big possibility is erecting a new building, something the commissioners have backed.

Discussion then centered around Avery’s Law, a new law designed to strengthen Ohio’s animal control laws by increasing penalties for negligent dog owners, giving authorities more tools to act after attacks, updating enforcement standards and aiming to reduce future dog-attack injuries.

“I’ve looked at that law, and those changes are going to stretch us until we get a new kennel,” Hall said. “But I think it’s going to be good for your department.”

“It’s going to create some challenges,” Beam agreed. “It will change the way we issue tickets.”

Beam ended the discussion by saying the county is blessed with a strong staff.