Deputy Sheriff and Dog Warden Gary Kronk brings a stray dog to the Humane Society of Madison County.

Deputy Sheriff and Dog Warden Gary Kronk brings a stray dog to the Humane Society of Madison County.

I wrote this story for our local newspaper back in May.  I actually rode around in the truck with Deputy Sheriff Gary Kronk, who made sure to show me a good time–we went off-roading down a bike path and across fields, drove on the Ohio Police Officers Training Academy race track (at legal speeds), and did everything that Gary normally does in a day of helping animals. I just missed getting to have the sirens turned on and run red lights–Gary dropped me off right before he got an emergency call to help out a fellow officer. Deputy Kronk promised me I’ll get to do that next time.

I ran into Deputy Kronk last night at the Town Hall meeting hosted by the Humane Society of the United States’ Wayne Pacelle and I was once again reminded how much Gary does to try to help animals in our rural area.

Here’s Deputy Kronk’s story:

No dog dies with its collar on and no dog dies alone.

Deputy Sheriff and Dog Warden Gary Kronk makes sure of that.

Deputy Kronk is the one who removes the collar and sits with the dog in its final moments of life.  Even the vicious dogs, once they are sedated, are calm enough that Deputy Kronk can pull them from their crate and hold them in his lap until they die.

“I don’t know if I’m doing it more for me or for them,” Kronk explained.  “But I do it.”

Before Deputy Kronk came on the job as the Madison County dog warden in 2005, the dogs were led into the vet’s office, placed in a cage, and left to die alone as the sedative and then the lethal injection took effect.

No one cradled the canine bodies.  No one whispered gentle words.  No one cared when a life departed.

Now the vet’s office knows to expect a different procedure.  A rug in the back awaits Deputy Kronk and the dogs he brings with him.  They both sit there together, vet staff moving around them respectfully, until the dog passes away and Deputy Kronk rises from one of his least favorite aspects of his dog warden duties.

“This is the worst part of the job,” Kronk said, “Picking up a dog who trusts me because I initially took it to the shelter where they cared for it and fed it and loved it.  Then something doesn’t work out and I have to come back to euthanize it.  The dog trusts me and is happy to see me.  The tail is wagging and then I betray the dog.  It is a betrayal. That kills me.”

If there weren’t unwanted dogs, if everyone spayed and neutered their pets, if no dogs were ever ill or injured, Deputy Kronk would never have to make the trips to the vet’s rug.

“Many people have the misconception that it’s ‘three days and down.’ The law does say that shelters must hold a dog for three days, but after three days the shelter decides what to do with the dog, not just kill it.”

While the Humane Society of Madison County has not euthanized to make room for five years that does not mean it wouldn’t happen when they are too full and space becomes an issue. Their main course of action after three days, however, is to try to find a loving home for the dog—something many of the dogs have never had before coming to the shelter.

“The humane society makes me look good,” Kronk said.  “If they didn’t do such a wonderful job taking care of the animals, I’d be the most disliked person in the county.”

Considering the number of calls he gets, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“I never discourage anyone from calling,” Kronk said.  “If they took the time to call, it was important to them.  I tell them to call me fifty times if they need to.  It’s my job.”

Taking phone calls is just one aspect of a job that often spills over into weekends and evenings.  Because Deputy Kronk is one of the few dog wardens in the state affiliated with a sheriff’s department, emergency calls can reach him at any time.

His association with the sheriff’s department, a relationship started in 1979, also enables Deputy Kronk to have a radio and side arms, to dress in departmental clothing, and to use a sheriff’s office vehicle.  He is the only dog warden in Ohio driving a truck bearing the bold gold word, “Sheriff” on the sides.

On a recent work day, that truck, polished clean and smelling of Armor All, crisscrossed Madison County, stopping in London, West Jefferson, and every little burg in between, some towns no more than tiny blips on the map.

“Sometimes I’ll be in Mount Sterling and I’ll get a call that I have to be clear to the other side of the county in Plain City.”

Deputy Kronk hops in the truck and begins the trek.  Because crossing those miles may help an animal in need.

Deputy Kronk has rescued pet rats, turtles, goldfish, rabbits, and even a snake that no one else wanted to deal with. He has climbed ladders to save cats in trees.

Don’t ever discount cats to Deputy Kronk.

“I’m maybe a little different. I’m a dog warden who likes cats.”

Most of his calls, however, are about dogs.

Deputy Kronk does whatever it takes when a dog is lost or harmed.  That may include off-roading, driving down bike paths, and circling the Ohio Police Officers Training Academy track (at a reasonable speed, of course).

It may also include using five bags of treats to lure a frightened dog from a cornfield.

Beyond helping abandoned dogs, a dog warden’s duties entail much more than rounding up canines at large.

A portion of the job is spent in court, speaking with prosecutors over abuse and abandonment issues.

An even greater portion involves education:  visiting school children, explaining the “vicious” dog laws to pit bull owners, telling overwhelmed mothers who to contact to find homes for the kittens in the garage.

Deputy Kronk’s job also involves educating the public so their dog won’t become one of those he picks up by the side of the road.

“People don’t understand the importance of tags.  It takes just a matter of hours to get your dog back if the dog is wearing a tag.”

Sometimes good intentioned people take a dog from Madison County to a shelter in Franklin or Fayette or Clark Counties.  Perhaps that shelter was on their way to work.  Perhaps the Humane Society of Madison County was closed. Without a tag, it is sometimes impossible to reunite a dog with its family.

Finding a dog’s home or providing it with a new one through adoption is the best part of Deputy Kronk’s job.

That makes up for the worst part: all the times he sits with a dog, removes its collar, and acts as a surrogate family so the dog will not be alone as it passes to a place where dog wardens are not necessary.

To contact Deputy Kronk, please call the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at 740-852-1212 or leave a message on his voice mail at 740-845-1749.  You can also go to www.madisonsheriff.org Click on “Patrol” on the sidebar and the Dog Warden link is listed there. If you do not currently have dog tags, the price is $24 and Deputy Kronk is looking for you!

Deputy Sheriff and Dog Warden Gary Kronk greets a stray dog in need of his help.  Kronk crisscrosses Madison County rescuing stray and abandoned dogs.

Deputy Sheriff and Dog Warden Gary Kronk greets a stray dog in need of his help. Kronk crisscrosses Madison County rescuing stray and abandoned dogs.

Deputy Sheriff Gary Kronk is one of the few dog wardens in the state affiliated with a sheriff's department.  Because of this affiliation, he drives a sheriff's office vehicle while performing his dog warden duties throughout Madison County.

Deputy Sheriff Gary Kronk is one of the few dog wardens in the state affiliated with a sheriff's department. Because of this affiliation, he drives a sheriff's office vehicle while performing his dog warden duties throughout Madison County.

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