Hamilton approves adoption-fee waiver; residents urge better promotion and animal-control coverage after dog-bite incident

Hamilton Township Council on Tuesday approved a temporary waiver of adoption fees at the municipal animal shelter from May 22 through June 30 as the town tries to reduce kennel overcrowding.

"As of a couple hours ago, we were at 48 dogs and 41 cats," resident Lisa Williams told the council during public comment, adding the shelter had 36 kennels and was "12 dogs over kennel capacity." Williams urged the administration to ramp up social-media promotion and rescue outreach so animals move more quickly from shelter to home.

The waiver, adopted as resolution 24-206, passed on roll call. Council members praised the administration and said they expected the promotional effort to begin shortly; a public-information assistant and plans with online news partners were cited as tools to boost outreach.

Separately, resident Steve Clegg described a May 9 incident in which a large dog entered a home, a child was bitten and, he said, animal control did not respond. "None of the ACOs responded," Clegg said when recounting CAD and police reports; he urged the council to clarify protocols for after-hours coverage. Council members asked staff to review the CAD reports and follow up with police and health department records.

Council members and public speakers proposed practical steps: targeted social-media scheduling, highlighting one or two dogs per week, partnerships with local nonprofits and stickers at businesses to publicize adoptable animals. The council said staff will report back and that the new public information assistant should begin expanded outreach within approximately two weeks.

The action does not change animal-control staffing policy, which officials said remains voluntary on-call; council members said they will review policies and records and return with updates.