Three weeks ago, Amanda Dehoney-Hinkle started her new job as director of Indianapolis Animal Care Services, or IACS. She stepped into a complicated situation at the shelter, which has been understaffed and overcrowded with animals.
She replaced Kelly Diamond, who earlier this year created a policy to cut hours for volunteers, which they said limited their ability to care for animals. They took their concerns about the policy and Diamond’s management of the shelter to the City-County Council. Diamond left her role in mid-July.
This is Dehoney-Hinkle’s second time working at IACS. She started in 2010 as an animal control officer and left in 2016 after working her way up to chief of kennel operations. Her journey as an animal welfare advocate started with taking care of pets as a kid. Now, she has three dogs, two tortoises and a cat at home.
Mirror Indy talked with Dehoney-Hinkle last week at the construction site for the new IACS building on East Raymond Street. It will replace the current Harding Street location and be about four times as big, with room for more animals.
We asked Dehoney-Hinkle why she’s back, how she plans to address volunteers’ concerns and why she’s not afraid of taking on the challenges at IACS.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
I know you worked at Indianapolis Animal Care Services for six years. What made you leave, and what changed that brought you back here?
There was no one thing. I saw the opportunity in Hancock County to run a shelter, and I took that to get some personal growth and more learning experiences. I did everything I could out there. When I left, they had moved into a brand-new building. They have a great staff.
I have always hoped to be able to come back to IACS one day. And then the opportunity arose, and I jumped on it.
I knew I would come back and there would be challenges, but I was ready for those. I want to be a part of making it better.
Rebuilding relationships with volunteers
The city’s shelter has been without a full-time veterinarian for about a year and hasn’t had a volunteer coordinator since mid-January.
Indy Documenter Monica Breedlove attended the IACS advisory board meeting on Aug. 20, 2024. 📝 Read more about what happened.
At the end of January, IACS changed volunteer hours so that volunteers had to leave by 7 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. IACS leadership said having volunteers in the building when staff wasn’t present could create liability issues.
That led to volunteers logging 4,500 fewer hours in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period of time last year. To volunteers, that meant less time they could spend taking care of animals, which they worried could lead to worsening behavioral issues.
I know you met with volunteers. What are some of the concerns that you’re hearing from them, and how do you plan to address those?
I think we have the same goal. The concern is: How do we provide the best care for the animals in our shelter? We’re determined, working together with staff and volunteers, to build that relationship back to where it should be.
Do you plan to extend the hours for volunteers back to 9 p.m. from 7 p.m.?
I met with them a few weeks ago, so that’s something we are working on in talks. And (I’m) still learning what the challenges are and how we reach those solutions.
There are a couple of positions that haven’t been filled at the shelter. When do you plan to hire a new volunteer coordinator and a new full-time vet?
We are actively searching for a vet. That has not stopped, and as of now, we have an accepted position for volunteer coordinator.
What’s next for the new shelter
The current shelter building has four kennel rooms to accommodate about 190 dogs. Often, IACS has more dogs in its care than that.
The new shelter under construction on East Raymond Street has about 50,000 square feet. It’s expected to open within the first half of 2026.
We’re standing at the new shelter’s construction site. How do you think the new shelter will help with the concerns of overcrowding with animals?
It’s something we have to look at. Not sure. I haven’t seen the actual plans of what this is going to look like, but I know we are super excited for the building.
The thing I’m most excited for is the indoor-outdoor spaces for the animals. It’s going to completely transform how we’re able to care for the animals in our shelter.
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Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young covers services and resources. Contact her at sophie.young@mirrorindy.org.
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