Every parking space was taken outside the Geauga County Administration Offices, 12611 Ravenwood Drive in Chardon, leaving people little choice but to park in the nearby medical center and library and walk in. The large public showing was in response to a heated argument that broke out during a Dec. 17 meeting where Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand proposed that his office take over  management of the Geauga dog shelter, where it was alleged that Dog Warden Matt Granito was not meeting job expectations. People fill the room at a Dec. 27 Geauga County Commissioners meeting. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald) With more than 250 people filling the large conference room of the Geauga County Commissioners meeting on Dec. 27, and two other rooms displaying a live stream filled, commissioners started the meeting as they normally would — breaking midway to address the dog shelter issue with residents questioning the motivations behind the proposal. “One thing that really stuck me today is I know the shelter has been self-sustaining for dollars, yet we have dollars to pay for Judge (Timothy) Grendell’s legal fees,” one resident said. “I know we have a wonderful sheriff’s department, but what’s the motivation? Is it to take over and control Matt (Granito)? Or is it to get more funding for the sheriff’s department? “And I think whatever money we might be giving to the sheriff’s or Rescue Village to take over these duties, we need to start appropriating some tax dollars to the shelter.” A representative with the sheriff’s department sits with Geauga County Commissioner-elect Carolyn Brakey. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald) One topic of discussion was bringing dogs in from shelters in other states. The practice is fairly common with many shelters sending dogs states away to keep them from being euthanized. Many people spoke at the meeting on how they had adopted these out-of-state dogs from the Geauga animal shelter and that they did not want the sheriff to take away that practice. Judy Jacobson and her service dog Drake address Geauga County commissioners. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald) One resident, Judy Jacobson, brought her service dog Drake to the meeting. Drake was one of the first “Tennessee dogs” that was brought to the shelter. “Drake was in the very first shipment from Tennessee… He has become my service dog; he has also saved my life,” Jacobson told commissioners. “He has learned to alert to an abnormal heart rate and rhythm for me. “I went into that abnormal rhythm very late at night and he actually did what’s called… a precordial thump. He went running across the yard, jumped up on my chest, two paws, launched me across the room apparently, but it was able to restart my heart into a normal rhythm. “I just wanted to let you guys know what a Tennessee dog can do,” she said to commissioners. Commissioner Tim Lennon interrupted the meeting to make a motion allocating $250,000 to the Geauga County Animal Shelter, which was quickly seconded and approved. The move was followed by many cheers of approval from the audience and a standing ovation. Dog Warden Matt Granito talks during a Geauga County Commissioners meeting. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald) Granito said in an interview after the meeting that he was overwhelmed by the support from the public and he was happy to get some positive feedback. Related Articles Local News | Mourning some well-known Northeast Ohioans we lost in 2024 Local News | Chardon Schools Foundation receives $15,000 donation from Preston Chevrolet and The Chevy Network Local News | New Year’s Eve Dance coming to Bainbridge Township Local News | Geauga County Department on Aging provides hot, home-delivered Christmas meals to 95 senior citizens Local News | Leadership Geauga announces Heritage Class for Retirees graduates He said that his main concern if the sheriff took over responsibility would be that dogs would be at their shelter for less time and then transferred to Rescue Village, a private facility in Russell Township, which would not be under the commissioners’ control. “I’m just truly honored that (they) think I am doing a good job,” Granito said when asked about the public’s show of support. “My understanding, and I don’t know completely because I haven’t seen a plan, is that he would hold the dogs for three days at the facility and then transfer the dogs to Rescue Village. “Rescue Village is now filled with animals, and they are going to take on a number of dogs if they do this. I worry that the amount of dogs coming into one facility instead of two would harm those dogs.” Additionally, he said the income raised from out-of-county adoptions would stop if the sheriff’s plan went into effect. Currently the revenue generated from those adoptions goes to the county; if that practice changed Rescue Village would collect those fees instead. The result, Granito said, would be more dogs left to die in out-of-state shelters and less revenue for the county. “The 122 dogs that we took in this year they would then have to find a place because even though they are from Tennessee, those dogs are going to be displaced and have to find someone else to rescue them,” Granito said. “They brought in 25 dogs (recently)… there was no money put into it and the adoption fee of $120-$200 was all revenue. We did about 13 adoptions so actually we created revenue of about $1,400 for our shelter to help other dogs in our county.” The next Geauga County Commissioners meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 7.