KILL 22,000 ANIMALS IN ONE YEAR
Continued
7929 North Michigan Road
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Phone: 317-872-5650
Administration Fax: 317-876-2428
Second Fax: 317-876-2417
Website: http://www.indyhumane.com
Executive Director
[email protected]
Carla Cox
Community Relations, Marketing
[email protected]
317.876.2422
Mike Goss
Shelter Manager
[email protected]
Mike Weaver
Assistant Executive Director
[email protected]
317.872.5650 ext. 115
2600 South Harding Street
Indianapolis, IN 46221
Phone: 317-327-4622
Fax: 317-327-1390
Sorry-they would not give out email addresses.
Lisa Redd
Administrator
2501 City-County Building
200 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317-327-3601
Fax: 317-327-3980
http://www.indygov.org/mayor/feedback.htm
Spay-neuter efforts and education have reduced populations, euthanasia elsewhere.
By Bill Theobald and Bonnie Harris
Indianapolis Star
October 16, 2001
They've done it by developing aggressive spay-neuter programs and innovative education that reaches the people responsible for the deaths of thousands of dogs and cats each year.
As a result, fewer unwanted animals flood their shelters.
That's in contrast to Indianapolis, where the number of animals going into shelters and being euthanized has been rising. Last year, about 22,000 cats and dogs were killed at shelters run by the Humane Society of Indianapolis and the city.
Local leaders and national experts agree the solution starts with more people taking pet ownership seriously.
Communities that have made that happen, national experts say, have focused on these elements: spay-neuter programs, targeted education, research and more adoptions.
In Indianapolis, the Humane Society sterilizes most animals before they are adopted from its shelter, but it provides limited help to the general public. The society has a traditional, untargeted education effort in part because it has done virtually no in-depth research on the problem. It has increased adoptions, but the killing also continues to rise.
At the city Animal Care and Control Division shelter, all animals are adopted out without being sterilized. Many people don't follow through and have the surgery done. The city has virtually no education program, has done even less research than the Humane Society and adopts out only a handful of animals each year.
Spay-neuter
New Hampshire provides a striking example of how spaying and neutering dogs and cats can save lives.
Peter Marsh of Concord, N.H., director of STOP (Solutions to Overpopulation of Pets), said the legislature created a statewide program in 1993 to fund low-cost spay-neuter options for poor people and those who adopt animals from shelters.
Since then, the volume of dogs and cats coming into shelters has dropped by almost one-third and the number of animals being euthanized has been cut by nearly three-fourths.
Last year, shelters in New Hampshire, which has a population of about 1.2 million people, euthanized 2,851 dogs and cats. In Marion County, with about 860,000 people, almost 22,000 dogs and cats were killed at shelters run by the city and the Humane Society of Indianapolis.
In New Hampshire, anyone who adopts a dog or cat from a shelter pays $25 for sterilization surgery; those who qualify for a state welfare program pay only $10. The rest of the cost of the spay-neuter is paid for from a state fund.
The money in the fund comes from a $2 surcharge on dog licenses.
The Humane Society of Indianapolis hands out $40-off coupons to those who adopt from its shelter but choose to have their pets sterilized elsewhere. The society also provides the coupons for adopters from the city shelter. Spay-neuter surgeries normally cost from $75 to $150.
While New Hampshire's program costs about $35,000 a year, Marsh estimates that the shelter saves more than $2 million in animal housing expenses by cutting the volume of animals coming into shelters.
With fewer animals to care for, shelter workers now have time to work with animals that would have been deemed unadoptable.
"It's hope," Marsh said. "In the past, shelter people felt it was just an impossible situation."
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a major animal welfare organization, operates a low-cost spay-neuter clinic for the public. In Seattle, the city funds and operates a public clinic.
Some communities don't wait for people to bring their dogs and cats in for surgery.
Providence, R.I., and Baltimore have mobile spay-neuter vans that go into neighborhoods and perform the surgery on site. "Neuter Scooter" is the logo on Baltimore's van.
In Indianapolis, one private group -- the Foundation Against Companion Animal Euthanasia or FACE -- has started a low-cost, high-volume spay-neuter clinic. Another private group, the Indiana Companion Animal Network, formed by longtime animal activists Eric and Julie Smith, hopes to open a second spay-neuter clinic in 2003.
Education
Innovation is the watchword across the country when it comes to educating the public.
Communities are finding creative ways to reach children and adults with important messages: don't let your pets run loose and reproduce; get them fixed; get help with behavior problems.
Denver's Dumb Friends League focuses its efforts on those pet owners who may be about to give up their animals.
For six years, the league has operated a helpline to offer advice on such things as house-training a dog, or getting a cat to stop scratching the furniture.
The league's six-member behavior department also teaches pet parenting classes and provides daily behavior training for shelter animals to make them more adoptable.
National attention has been focused on Fort Wayne's city shelter, which was recognized for its success in stretching limited education resources.
Six years ago, the city -- less than half the size of Indianapolis -- started producing its own television show that reaches 400 classrooms. Education specialist Peggy Bender also helps teachers incorporate the lessons into their curriculum, then surveys teachers and students to judge her programs' effectiveness.
The Providence (R.I.) Animal Rescue League has received national recognition for teaming with the city's children's museum to create an educational exhibit.
More than a half million adults and children have visited the Pets and People exhibit since it opened in 1997, making it the museum's most popular room. It features a miniature animal hospital, a kid-size doghouse where children can experience being cooped up, and a play adoption center.
Education that truly reaches people can't be done at a shelter, said education director Jane Greco Deming.
"I am a big believer that we do it one person, one group, one family at a time," she said.
Research
Research on animal welfare is still fairly rare around the country, but some communities have done enough to guide their efforts.
The Hawaiian Humane Society in Honolulu conducted extensive public opinion surveys in 1993, 1996 and earlier this year. The agency used the surveys to set policy and to judge awareness of its services, said Eve Holt, director of community relations.
For example, the 1993 survey found that not enough people knew about the society's lost-and-found services. So the society focused more publicity on the subject and the public's awareness level rose in the next survey.
The Humane Society for Seattle/King County surveyed its community in 1998, specifically focusing on spay-neuter practices.
It found out how many people sterilized their pets, why others didn't and tested the potential success of sample messages they could use to encourage owners to spay or neuter their pets.
One conclusion from the study: marketing on spaying and neutering should be targeted to women because they are the primary pet caretakers and more likely to have the surgery done.
Adoption
Experts say shelters sometimes get caught up boosting pet adoptions and don't spend enough on spay-neuter options and education -- efforts that would reduce the number of animals coming into shelters and thus the number being killed.
"Sheltering and adopting animals is the crack cocaine of the animal welfare movement. Everybody wants to do that because it makes it feel real good, but all we're doing is treading water," said Bob Christiansen, author of the book Save Our Strays.
The Humane Society of Indianapolis provides an example.
While the Humane Society boosted adoptions by 28 percent from 1994 to 2000, the volume of animals coming into the shelter also has grown, leaving the Humane Society to euthanize 37.5 percent more animals in 2000 than it did in 1994.
While adoptions at the Humane Society have grown, they remain low at the city's shelter.
One simple way the Humane Society and thousands of shelters around the country boost adoptions is to post lists and photographs of adoptable animals on free Web sites, such as Petfinder.com.
Another method many shelters, including the Humane Society, use is to take animals to remote sites, such as pet supply stores.
Some communities, such as Buffalo, N.Y., extend the reach of their adoption efforts even farther.
The Erie County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has a mobile adoption van called the Whisker Wag'n that goes out at least five days a week.
Shelters also need to start thinking beyond the borders of their own communities when it comes to adoptions, says prominent researcher Gary Patronek, who directs the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University.
"You need a good snapshot of the community; what's moving and what isn't," he said.
Rural communities may want dogs and cats that aren't in demand in an urban setting and vice versa, he said.
"You need to be thinking about making this a regional process," Patronek said. "Then one could argue, if you know this (animal) is adoptable in community X and they would be interested in it, then maybe you have some obligation to try to get it there."
By Bonnie Harris
Indianapolis Star
October 16, 2001
Max got lucky, as do a few thousand shelter animals in Indianapolis each year. With a weak meow or the wag of a tail, they pull people into their lives and begin a bond that lasts a lifetime.
Fonner said he tried three times to adopt a cat at the Humane Society of Indianapolis. He picked out a kitten, but each time he returned for his adoption appointment, no one was there to talk to him.
"I kind of lost my cool," said Fonner, who lives in Eagledale. He gave them his phone number and left in a huff, but no one called him back.
So he went to the city's shelter on the Southside to find a new friend for his cat, Blackie.
And there was Max.
In his new home, the black and white kitten brought Blackie out of his funk, entertained Fonner and began mothering Buddy, a 95-pound blend of Akita and husky.
When the dog is asleep, Max likes to grab his head and give him a bath. If Buddy resists, Max lays on his nose and finishes the job.
"I call 'em the boys," Fonner said.
Max takes showers with Fonner; he loves water. Turn on the sink and he's there.
"He's a weird apple," Fonner said.
In the evenings, all the boys sit together, Fonner in his comfy chair, Blackie behind his head, Buddy at his feet and Max on his lap.
"Saved you from the electric chair," he reminded Max.
"Didn't I baby?"
Princess Madison
Tracy Hammel came from a family that catered to purebred dogs -- Great Danes, golden retrievers, Old English sheepdogs.
But when the registered nurse decided to get her own dog this year, she went to the city's shelter. On her second visit, Hammel fell in love with a mixed-breed pup, took her home and named her Princess Madison.
The first night in her new home in Fishers, Madison cried in her dog crate, so Hammel slept on the floor beside her. The second night, they both slept in the bed.
In a week, the pup was house trained and venturing out from under an end table, her safe spot in the family room. It wasn't long before she was romping through the house.
She doesn't hesitate to jump on a cushy chair and lay her head on Hammel's hand.
"Princess Madison, everything soft for you," she tells the pup.
Nothing was easy for Madison before Hammel came along.
When animal control officers picked her up in a Near-Eastside neighborhood, she was only a couple of months old and on her own. She was running from house to house, eating out of trash cans and begging for food.
Then she spent nine days in the shelter.
Two rounds of antibiotics, regular veterinary care and lots of love was all she needed.
Now she eats well, gets tasty treats and plays with chew toys and stuffed animals.
"Who's the best girl?" Hammel asks her pup. "Maddy girl."
In response, the pup reaches out and licks Hammel's nose.
Maddy has touched many of Hammel's neighbors, too. She was an icebreaker, bringing out neighbors Hammel had never met.
"How's Maddy?" they ask, when they see her chasing a ball in the front yard.
Princess Madison is fantastic.
Sasha
Sasha was set to be euthanized when K.C. Knebel saw the Great Pyrenees at the city's shelter in July.
Knebel couldn't stand it, so she adopted the big white dog to keep her other rescued dog company.
He's Bernie, a 205-pound St. Bernard.
Bernie had been somebody's Christmas present. But he outgrew his puppyhood and his home.
Both dogs were a challenge to their new owner.
When Knebel got Bernie two years ago, he was depressed.
When Sasha came home, she tried to attack both people and other dogs.
As she did with Bernie, Knebel checked into Sasha's background and found she had been log-chained to a tree and beaten for two years. Then she was thrust into a shelter and traumatized by the constant barking. When Knebel found her, she was curled up in the corner of her cage.
Both dogs responded to Knebel's care.
Bernie has become the best house dog Knebel has ever had. And Sasha is like a puppy.
"She barks, she runs, she is on every shadow, jumping on it. And you would never have known that from seeing her up there (at the shelter)."
Knebel is still worried about her, though, because Sasha came home with a growth on her neck, and she can't afford a vet bill right now.
Giving up on the dog is not an option. Knebel's bond with Sasha -- and Bernie -- is permanent.
"They picked me," Knebel said. "I didn't pick them."
Nearly every day, Rosie Ellis seeks out animals that would otherwise be killed.
By Bill Theobald and Bonnie Harris
Indianapolis Star
October 16, 2001
Rosie Ellis, who has operated the private, not-for-profit Southside Animal Shelter for about five years, rescues more than 1,000 dogs and cats a year from the city facility.
Last year, Rosie, as everyone calls her, rescued nearly twice as many animals as the public adopted from the shelter.
"She's a saint," said Marilyn Moores, the former City-County Council member who has tried to make improvements at the shelter.
Almost every day, sometimes more than once a day, Rosie combs the shelter, putting her name on animals she hopes to save. She gets the leftovers, the ones the public won't adopt.
Like the one-legged cat that was brought in by a man who found him in the woods. The shelter staff said he would be euthanized, so Rosie took him to her own veterinarian for treatment. There, they gave him a name: Kickstand.
While the city can tap tax dollars and the Humane Society of Indianapolis has millions, Rosie takes no salary and has personally loaned Southside more than $50,000, according to its most recent tax return.
About $83,000 in donations, combined with $150,000 in adoption fees covered her operating expenses last year.
At times, Rosie has to put up a fight to get animals out of the city shelter. And she doesn't always win.
Rosie rescued a white poodle that someone brought in to be euthanized. Later, shelter officials made Rosie return the dog, and they euthanized the animal. Since then, shelter practice has been changed to allow some animals to be adopted even if the owner asks that they be killed.
When the Humane Society took over the city's kennel, Moores insisted the city craft an agreement guaranteeing Rosie the right to rescue animals.
On the day the agreement was signed, a Humane Society official and a veterinarian made a surprise visit to Rosie's shelter.
Moores was furious, but said city officials in charge of the shelter at the time told her the visit was just a coincidence.
Last summer, the city temporarily barred Rosie from taking in new animals because she had too many at her shelter. Since then, the city will release animals only after she fills out forms that detail the number of animals at her shelter, the animals she wants to rescue, and information about animals she has placed.
Some days, Rosie gets discouraged. She sees animals she wants to take but can't. And she knows most of them will die.
"It just breaks my heart to see all those beautiful animals euthanized," she said.
Experts say walks help pets stay healthy, but shelters don't have time for every animal.
By Bonnie Harris and Bill Theobald
Indianapolis Star
October 16, 2001
They need to walk or exercise their dogs at least twice a day, say guidelines from the Humane Society of the United States.
But this doesn't happen consistently at the Humane Society, said Kraig Parson, Darcie Kurtz and Michelle Pritchett, longtime volunteer dog walkers.
And dogs aren't walked at all at the city's Animal Care and Control shelter, which is operated by the Humane Society.
Dogs need exercise to stay fit and to ward off depression and agitation, two shelter maladies that can send them to their deaths.
Being outdoors also allows dogs to relieve themselves.
Dogs given up by their owners often are housebroken -- trained not to defecate or urinate inside.
"You know these dogs have been holding it for way, way too long, maybe even a day or two," Kurtz said. "If you take them outside, you might see them pee for two solid minutes."
Sometimes the dogs don't make it out of the building, she added.
"You have to take into consideration that some of these dogs have been beaten for going indoors," Parson said.
The volunteers praise the Humane Society for the other ways it cares for animals, but they worry when they can't get every dog out before the shelter closes.
"It's something that won't get done if I'm not doing it myself," Parson said. He and Kurtz think the paid staff should walk all the dogs daily.
Staff has little time for dog walking, conceded Marsha Spring, the Humane Society's executive director.
"They're too busy," she said, adding, "we have a lot of volunteers to walk animals."
At the Fort Wayne city-run shelter, all dogs are taken out twice a day. Housebroken dogs get sick if they don't go out, said Belinda Lewis, executive director.
When the Indianapolis Humane Society's dogs do go out, they are restricted to fenced enclosures that were built only after volunteers held a fund-raiser to pay for them.
Shelter dogs aren't allowed to use the Humane Society's fenced dog park, which is across the parking lot from the building. It has lots of trees and 21/2 miles of trails but is reserved for private citizens who pay to use it.
At the municipal shelter on the Southside, there is plenty of grassy yard space but no fenced areas and no dog walking.
Lack of regular exercise may have contributed to the death of Sadie, an Irish setter, who was left at the city's shelter in June.
Cathy York, of Greencastle, found Sadie running loose. When she couldn't find a home for the dog, she took her to the city shelter because she works in Indianapolis. York's veterinarian said Sadie was about 4 years old and had hip problems, but nothing that couldn't be fixed by a short daily walk and arthritis medicine later in life.
Sadie got no walks during her 10-day stay at the shelter.
Her paperwork shows she was killed for two reasons:
Sadie was too old. Shelter staff guessed she was 8 to 10 years old. And the beautiful, red Irish setter had bad hips.
Contact Bill Theobald at 1-317-444-6602 or via e-mail at [email protected]
