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'Fido Freedom' underway, reconnecting Lucas County's lost dogs with their owners after Fourth of July

Lucas County Canine Care & Control is waiving costs for owners to pick up their lost pets at the shelter following a holiday that often sends them astray.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Lucas County Canine Care & Control is dealing with a significant number of dogs. Shelter staff says at one point this week, they had 191 canines in their care.

"It pushes us to the limits a little bit," kennel supervisor Kaity Ardner said. "We do have quite a few that are staying here, and we even have a couple special needs cases."

They've rescued more than 30 stray dogs who likely ran away from home during the Fourth of July holiday, and are waiting on owners to reclaim them. Arnder says so far, 10 of the dogs have been reclaimed as of Tuesday evening.

"Right now, we're doing 'Fido Freedom' which allows people a time frame during the Fourth of July to come reclaim their animal free of charge," Ardner said. "It waives all the boarding fees and citations."

Ardner says if you don't come to reclaim your dog within a reasonable amount of time, it'll be put up for adoption.

"We would try to go through our process to try and get it rescued out so it can find a home soon," Ardner said.

Ardner says the facility is dealing with plenty of dogs as it is. Capacity isn't at a breaking point, but they certainly aren't letting up when it comes to adoption.

"Come down and try to claim your dog," Ardner said. "We love to try and reunite them. That's our ultimate goal here is just to get them back to their home and back to their families."

The shelter is holding its Fido Freedom Days program through at least Wednesday. You can view LC4's lost and found resources here and pick up your lost dog without having to pay any fees for impound.

If you don't own a dog, LC4 encourages people to think about adoption.

Today is the first day of Fido Freedom Days. Every year we see an influx of stray dogs in the days surrounding the...

Posted by Lucas County Canine Care & Control on Saturday, July 2, 2022

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