INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indianapolis Animal Care Services is looking for people to adopt dogs as the shelter is full.
The agency is an open-intake shelter, which means they take in any animals regardless of age, behavior or health. In the past week, it brought in 230 animals. This made it so they have no empty cages for incoming medium and large dogs. It has gotten to the point where the shelter has crates set up in the hallway.
Representatives say they have been working hard to be creative so they don’t have to euthanize for space. The agency says it is looking for rescue partners to step up to pull some of the animals to their care, especially larger dogs. It is also offering free adoptions throughout the weekend.
The shelter is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., but it stops accepting adoption applications at 5:30 p.m.
In addition to the free adoptions, the agency announced a new campaign aimed at keeping animals out of the shelter and in their homes. The “No Place Like Home” campaign offers pet owners resources and options to help with issues that could lead to an animal being surrendered to the shelter.
“Making the decision to surrender an animal is difficult,” said Katie Trennepohl, Deputy Director of IACS. “Our ultimate goal is to keep you and your pet together, if possible.”
If anyone is considering surrendering their pet, there are a number of resources available to help, including food, low-cost medical care, and other issues. For more information, click here.
If they are still unable to keep the pet and must find an alternative home for him or her, the Rehome website offers tools to help without having to surrender him or her to the shelter.
People who find a stray animal are encouraged to follow these steps before bringing it to the shelter.
- Take the animal to the closest vet to be scanned for a microchip. All vet offices will do this for free, and there’s a chance the vet may recognize the animal.
- See if the animal has a tag with a name or phone number on it. If people find a tag, call the owner to arrange for the animal to be returned.
- Post on social media, Indy Lost Pet Alert’s website or on the neighborhood’s NextDoor page. The more places people post, the more exposure, and the higher the chance someone will recognize the animal and get it back home.
- If people are in a position to hold onto the animal for a few days, while they continue searching for the owner, the agency urges them to do so. Per Sec. 531-208 of City-County Code, after 14 days, the finder of a lost animal will be considered the found animal’s owner and can keep, or re-home the animal at his or her discretion.
- If people are unable to keep the animal and have exhausted all other options, call IACS at 317.327.1397 to make an appointment to surrender the animal.
