It’s been more than five months since the Indianapolis animal shelter stopped letting volunteers help past 7 p.m. That’s led to about 4,500 fewer volunteer hours through May compared to last year.
Jessica Perry and other volunteers have gotten a clear look at what the change has meant for the dogs, cats and other animals at the shelter.
Less human affection. Dirtier kennels. More behavior issues.
“They’re throwing themselves against the walls,” Perry said of the most stressed dogs. “They’re hitting their tails against the bars until they bleed.”
That behavior already existed at the shelter, Perry said, but now volunteers worry that less human care is leading to even more kennel stress. Over time, that might mean it’s less likely that an animal gets adopted.
They are also concerned the change will lead to more animals being euthanized. For now, data from Indianapolis Animal Care Services shows about the same number of animals were euthanized in June as compared to the summer months last year.
Perry, 35, has been volunteering for about a year. She’s part of a group of volunteers trying to get IACS to restore their hours.
Now that the city agency has a new director, volunteers see an opportunity to make progress.
But volunteers say they haven’t gotten a commitment from Amanda Dehoney-Hinkle, who was appointed by Mayor Joe Hogsett last month to lead the agency. She started July 21.
Dehoney-Hinkle is Hogsett’s second appointment to the position. His first pick, Kelly Diamond, faced criticism from volunteers and the community.
Volunteers are generally supportive of Dehoney-Hinkle, who previously spent six years with IACS as deputy chief of kennel operations and interim director. Most recently, she led Greenfield-Hancock Animal Management. She’s coming into the role as IACS is building a new shelter, which is set to open next year.
Dehoney-Hinkle acknowledged volunteers’ concerns during a City-County Council committee meeting July 23. One of her goals, she said, is to “build a better-structured volunteer program.”
In the meantime, the agency’s volunteer coordinator position has been unfilled since January. Volunteers say not having a coordinator has worsened communication and halted the onboarding of new volunteers. The job opening was posted July 23.
Without knowing what comes next, Aimee Gong and other volunteers remain cautiously optimistic that change is on the way.
“I want to be hopeful,” Gong said, “but I don’t know.”
IACS has not made Dehoney-Hinkle available for an interview. A spokesperson said she won’t do interviews until the City-County Council confirms her appointment. The council’s Community Affairs Committee recommended approval by the full council.
The soonest that could happen is at the council’s next meeting on Aug. 11.
Thousands of hours lost
Gong, 43, previously had a consistent schedule for volunteering at the shelter. She’s been volunteering for about two years and would go on Monday and either Wednesday or Friday.
But that was when volunteers could stay until 9 p.m.
Now, they can’t stay past 7 p.m.
Gong, who has adopted five dogs and fostered around 10, said her volunteering is more inconsistent now. Other volunteers say they also spend less time at the shelter because it’s difficult to make a difference for the animals with fewer hours available.
Even as volunteer hours have dropped significantly this year, the numbers don’t tell the full story.
“It’s more like a quality-of-life type thing,” Gong said, “which is kind of hard to quantify.”
For dogs, the change means some don’t get to leave their kennel as often.
With the old schedule, volunteers typically had time to make sure every dog could get out twice a day. Dogs could play, go for a walk and learn basic commands such as sitting.
Now, since volunteers can’t stay past 7 p.m., they say some dogs don’t get that second trip outside of the kennel. That means dogs typically spend more than 23 hours in the kennels every day.
Rob Johansen, who started volunteering about a year and a half ago, said he’s noticed the dogs seem more scared. He said kennels are getting dirtier, too, since volunteers also use that time to clean.
“It’s so hard to see,” Johansen said.
Johansen, 59, is an actor at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. By the time he gets out of rehearsals and drives to the shelter, he said he has only 30 minutes to spend with the animals.
“Barely enough time to get started,” he said.
It’s not just the dogs
By the end of June, there were 300 dogs in the shelter, according to IACS data.
And while dogs get the bulk of attention, the shelter also can also have more than 200 cats in its care at any given time. In fact, there were more cats than dogs at the end of June.
Many of the cats that end up in the shelter are injured or sick, volunteer Caitlin Arthur said.
“They’re the more vulnerable of the cat population to begin with,” she said.
Now, just like with dogs, volunteers don’t have as much time to spend with the cats. Arthur, 36, said she can’t volunteer on weekdays anymore because of the change in hours.
Like other volunteers, Arthur wants to believe that getting a new director will lead to good things for her and the animals.
“I think we’re all kind of holding out hope to see what happens,” she said.
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Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young contributed reporting to this story.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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