Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter — Attraction in Valley View

Update: on 7/23/19 Max (formerly Tom Riddle) was returned to the Shelter where according to Shelter Administrator, Mindy Naticchioni, “he will he will go under the care of our veterinarian for further treatment to resolve the giardia.”

Max is a beautiful boy who received compliments every time we were out. He is sweet and affectionate, and can be strong willed and stubborn like any other teenage puppy. He knows basic commands with hand gestures and is more or less house broken (having very few accidents). He is crate trained, sleeps through the night and rides beautifully in a car. In addition, he walks nicely on a leash (with limited pulling) and has been exposed to many sights and sounds. However, his herding instinct does cause him to lunge at (and try to chase) moving cars, bikes (standard and motorized), and running individuals (even if they are simply crossing the street). His focus is excellent allowing him to catch moths and nats mid flight and like most dogs, he’ll chase after any bird or squirrel in sight.

My vet completed Max’s vaccinations and he is now up to date. He has also taken the required dosage of heart guard for this month. He also completed a cycle of metronidazole for Giardia. I have provided this information to the shelter to ensure that his next family is fully aware of his medical history and/or needs unlike I was.

This was not an easy decision for my family. My daughter is heartbroken; however, it was made in Max’s best interest. Had his medical condition been disclosed along with the course of treatment and general recovery time required, I would not have adopted Max.

My daughter will start school soon and with our schedules, we don’t have the time necessary to follow the proper protocol to ensure Max’s successful recovery from Giardia. Most often, it is a lengthy recovery process. I will be checking on Max with the prayer that he finds a good, loving home, with the space and attention that he needs to grow into a well-mannered, balanced adult dog.

If you are a GSD lover or looking to have a little fun, check with the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter to see when Max AKA Tom Riddle will be available for adoption.

On June 8th, I put my dog of almost 13 years down due to medical complications. As you can imagine, it was a very difficult time for my family. As an avid dog lover, I follow many rescue and shelter Facebook pages to include the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter. It was through that page and the featured “ADOPTAPALOOZA” event that I found and adopted the newest member of our family, Max (formerly Tom Riddle), on June 20th. We brought Max home on Tuesday, June 25th.

Per the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter Adoption Policy, I took Max in for a follow-up appointment with my vet on July 2nd. Following this visit, my vet indicated that Max had a “very nasty parasite and that I should call the place of adoption to let them know…” as this parasite, Giardia, is extremely contagious and other dogs at the kennel may have been exposed and/or at risk. Giardia, also known as Giardia intestinalis, G.duodenalis, and G.lambia, is a single cell protozoa parasite that affects not only dogs but also cats and humans. Giardia cysts are passed through feces and can be contracted when a dog eats, drinks, sniffs, or licks something contaminated with Giardia cysts.

I contacted the Shelter Manager, Mindy Naticchioni, who appeared to show little concern regarding the fact that the dogs at the shelter in her care were at risk or to even notify the new owners of the 51 dogs who’d been adopted at the ADOPTAPALOOZA event. Instead, she questioned whether or not I knew how Giardia was transmitted. She refused to take any responsibility; but suggested that I could return the dog so that he could be treated and rehomed.

If you adopted a dog from the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter between the dates of 6/14/19- 6/25/19, I STRONGLY suggest that you GET YOUR DOG TESTED for this VERY...

I have to write this review for people that get ready to go to this location. Every time I go to this location either one of the staff has a bad attitude or something weird is just going on at this location now I've been to this location to be honest with you all probably 20 times and out of 20 times I've had about 15 incidents with someone at the location and it's two people that work there specifically two females their attitudes are really really bad and they work at that front counter now the rest of location is clean and the dogs look well taken care of to be direct but when you go down there you are not going to find the dog that you want to get simply because the way in which they orchestrate themselves for you to get a pet seems to be a little unorthodox for better lack of words. Every time I try to look for a small dog they say they're gone but when I look on the website they're on the website when they have the small dog area blocked off so you really can't see what small dogs are back there and literally I just went there today so I wrote this review because I turned in a dog that was small I named him AKA speedy now I do have pictures he was a lost and found dog that just happened to walk into my backyard where I live we are not allowed to have more than three dogs but that's neither here nor there The point of me saying that is I turned the dog in I did not want to have three dogs so after about a week of me holding the dog after I reported it to this location I said let me go ahead and call the dog pound and let them come and pick this dog up and take him to the nearest dog shelter now this is a beautiful dog it's a shih Tzu dog and it's beautiful I cleaned it up it was emaciated I felt it I made sure it had it shots and then I send it on to the rescue My problem is they say that dog is not there but it is then they keep saying there's no small dogs but me and a couple members of my family that were in my car waited outside and were watching them walking dogs that were small now I don't know if they have a favorite pic of people but simply put the dogs during the back if they try to say that those dogs need medical attention that's weird because there's dogs that are big that are in the kennels that also say they need medical attention so they can be upfront why aren't the small dogs in the back I don't know what's going on to be honest with you guys I can't put my finger on it I already have two small dogs so I'm not looking for any more small dogs but I was looking for my runaway my speedy the one I had turned in just to see if anybody had picked them up and wanted to adopt him if not I was going to take them back home so I'm sorry for the long review but it's something with that location I just have to be honest I know I'm not the only one but as usual you guys have a blessed day sorry for the very long review I'm still giving them one start because customer service at that location is pathetic absolutely pathetic I will say I never have a problem with any of the males at the location and yes there are many females at the location I do not have problems with but these two specific females that are Caucasian that are at the front desk are absolutely pathetic and that is why I gave this location one star because man you can't get past them to get what you need to get to and I really don't understand am I the only one...

My neighbor Marlin’s dog went missing on 04/08/2020. They immediately contacted the Maple Hts Animal Warden. She was told that they did not have the dog but would contact her if they pick him up. A week went by and they did not hear from anyone. I’d been looking on Lost and Found sites the see if I spotted Maxx anywhere. On 04/19/2020 I noticed someone had posted him while assisting another friend locate her dogs. I called the Maple Hts police station immediately. I was informed that if they picked him up where he would be. They still did not confirm that he was picked up. I then called and left a detailed message at the Cuyahoga County Animal shelter. On Monday morning, they returned my call but stated that they were on the phone with the owner of the dog. I thought that was great. Marlin emailed them in the afternoon showing proof that the dog did indeed belong to her. They sent a breakdown of the charges and stated that the dog now belonged to the shelter and she had 48hrs to come up with the money. My neighbor tried to send a reply email that came back blocked. She then called and left a message stating that she would like to speak with a supervisor. The call was never returned. I left a message on Wednesday and again on Thursday because I was trying to help pay to have the dog returned to his rightful family. Neither of my calls were returned. To my astonishment, I find out from someone that the dog was already adopted. Here is my issue. If the dog was already adopted, why did They not tell Marlin that information on 4/23/2020 when she called at 12:05 pm. If they wanted the fees to be paid, why would my phone calls not be returned? And if the goal is to assist animals in being returned to their family why the family would not be worked with? Instead the pup is adopted out to someone he does not know for half the price. This is an older couple that owns the dog. He slipped out of his collar and she is on a cane and was unable to chase him. She had to drive. As a whole, we all on Stay a Home orders making locating your pet a bit more difficult. I feel that the Deputy that was working was curt, unfeeling and did not care to give Maxx back. Due to Covid 19 everyone was under stay at home orders. We are aware that legally they only needed to keep him for 72 hours. However, they still had him when the owner contacted them to retrieve Maxx. The Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter did not post on their site or social media page that Maxx had been found. The Maple Hts Animal Warden did not contact the owner when the dog was found despite the fact that the order called them as soon as Max couldn’t be located on 04/08/2020.

Someone from the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter contacted Marlin on 04/26/2020 asking if she wanted Maxx back. Marlin told her yes. The person told her she would call her back. No return call has been received to date. The Cuyahoga County shelter is sending information to people inquiring that they have spoken to Marlin and I. I have not spoken to anyone from that entity. I received an email from the Director on 04/26/2020 only stating that the shelter was getting negative backlash from my Facebook post. They have also been contacted by a lawyer. She received only a general response.

They want donations but do not treat...