Hamilton Township: Prioritize Animal Shelter Reform, Public Accountability, and Verified Qualifications

Animals at the Hamilton Township Animal Shelter deserve consistent, transparent, and humane care.

If you are unhappy with how things are being handled at HTAS, this petition is for you to sign.

Community members have repeatedly raised concerns at public meetings and online about shelter operations, animal welfare, behavior evaluations, dog color coding, volunteer access, adoption promotion, rescue outreach, communication, and accountability.

This petition is not about one animal, one meeting, one social media post, or one individual. It is about making sure the shelter is operating with clear standards, qualified oversight, written responsibilities, verified credentials, and public transparency.

We are calling on Hamilton Township, including the Mayor’s Office, administration, Board of Health, and Town Council, to take meaningful action by requiring:

1. A public internal review using the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines and checklist. The completed checklist, identified gaps, corrective actions, responsible parties, and timelines should be made public.
2. A separate external independent review of shelter operations.
   This review should assess shelter management, animal care practices, behavior evaluations, dog color coding, training decisions, rescue outreach, volunteer access, adoption promotion, staffing, communication, and accountability.
3. Written public answers to community concerns. The public deserves clear answers about who is making decisions, what processes are being followed, what has gone wrong, and what will change. A list of detailed questions has been provided to them. 
4. Verified credentials for trainers, evaluators, and decision-makers.
   Hamilton Township should produce and verify the credentials of anyone making behavior evaluation, training, handling, color-coding, behavior modification, or animal outcome decisions.
5. Ordinance and policy reform for credential verification.
   If current ordinances, policies, contracts, or internal procedures do not require verification of claimed animal-related certifications and qualifications, those rules should be reviewed and amended.
6. Clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability.
   The township should identify who is responsible for website listings, photos, social media, dog color coding, behavior evaluations, behavior plans, rescue outreach, volunteer onboarding, adoption promotion, and public communication.
7. Written behavior and care plans for dogs above green level.
   These plans should be dated, assigned to a responsible person, actively followed, reviewed regularly, and paired with enrichment, decompression, reassessments, rescue outreach, and measurable criteria for progress.
8. Improved volunteer access and adoption visibility.
   The township should provide a clear plan to improve volunteer onboarding, dog handling access, fresh photos, videos, adoption listings, and regular promotion of adoptable animals.

We are asking for written answers, a public timeline, and a clear reform plan so animals are not left waiting for help until public pressure builds around them individually.

This is not a personal attack on any one staff member, trainer, volunteer, contractor, or township employee. It is a call for the full system to be reviewed honestly, including whether current leadership structures, qualifications, processes, policies, and responsibilities are meeting the needs of the animals and the community.

Hamilton Township’s animals deserve better than vague promises, unclear qualifications, delayed responses, and preventable gaps in care.

They deserve a shelter system built on transparency, accountability, verified credentials, qualified support, humane standards, and meaningful action.

Please sign and share if you believe Hamilton Township should prioritize real animal shelter reform now.