Special prosecutor to probe shelter issues

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A special prosecutor has been appointed to conduct an investigation of former Van Wert County dog warden Rich Strunkenburg.

According to County Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach, Paulding County Prosecutor Jospeh R. Burkard has been named special prosecutor to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against the former county dog warden over conditions found recently at the county Humane Shelter on Bonnewitz Avenue.

A request for a special prosecutor in the case was made recently by Van Wert County Prosecutor Charles F. Kennedy III and granted Monday by Common Pleas Judge Charles D. Steele, according to Sheriff Riggenbach.

It’s the latest action following an investigation by Sheriff Riggenbach’s office into complaints filed July 20 concerning conditions at the Humane Shelter. That investigation led to Strunkenburg’s firing by the Van Wert County Board of Commissioners last Thursday.

The commissioners charged Strunkenburg with “incompetency, inefficiency, gross neglect of duty, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance and failure of good behavior” and gave four specific reasons for Strunkenburg’s termination from his dog warden’s position: 1. Failure to supply adequate food and water to dogs at the shelter; 2. Failure to adequately clean the kennel and cage area; 3. Failure to secure the animals in the facility; and 4. Failure to supply adequate care and attention to the animals.

Although there have been complaints in the past of Strunkenburg failing to take service calls and provide services to county residents – complaints that led to his being placed under the direct supervision of Sheriff Riggenbach – the July 20 complaint about Humane Shelter conditions was the first of that type the county commissioners were aware of.

After his office received the complaint, Sheriff Riggenbach placed Strunkenburg on paid administrative leave and initiated an investigation into the complaints. What deputies found did not please the sheriff.

“I had a unit go out there and see what we had,” Sheriff Riggenbach said last Wednesday. “I’m not going to go into the specifics of what we found, but it was not what was acceptable to me.”

As special prosecutor, Burkhard will have a free hand to investigate Strunkenburg’s actions as dog warden, as well as conditions at the Humane Shelter, although there is no deadline for completion of the investigation.

In addition to the appointing of a special prosecutor, the commissioners will be meeting with Sheriff Riggenbach and members of the Van Wert County Humane Society Board of Trustees in the near future to discuss restructuring the dog warden’s position to provide better services to county residents. The commissioners also requested input from the public.

“We encourage the community to contact us, the Sheriff’s Department of the Humane Society if they have questions, concerns, or suggestions,” the commissioners said in a release. “The safety of our community is our main concern, and it is also important to us to provide services that are always professional, competent and meet the high standards that we expect.”