In the past eight months, people surrendered over 1,200 pets to the city’s animal shelter. Indianapolis Animal Care Services, IndyHumane and other animal welfare organizations want to keep as many pets as possible in homes and out of shelters.
“The humane and the human thing to do is to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to keep that pet in a loving home,” said IndyHumane CEO Donna Casamento. “We’ve got a lot of pets that don’t have homes that need to come in here. If there’s a way that we can make it stay in that home and help support both ends of the leash, I like to say, then we will do that.”
Casamento and a spokesperson for Indianapolis Animal Care Services answered frequently asked questions about what to do if you find a stray, lose a pet or need support to care for an animal.
I found a stray dog or cat. What should I do?
- If the animal has behavioral issues or doesn’t seem friendly, call the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4622. The call will go to animal control officers at Indianapolis Animal Care Services, the city’s animal shelter. The officers can come pick up the animal.
- If the animal is friendly and you can take care of them, take the animal in while you look for its owner.
- Get the animal scanned for a microchip at a local vet, shelter or pet store.
- See if an owner is looking for the animal on Nextdoor, neighborhood Facebook groups, Indy Lost Pet Alert or Petco Love Lost. These sites have found pet alerts and lost pet alerts. Petco Love Lost uses facial recognition software to see if anyone else has posted the same pet.
- If you can’t find the owner and you aren’t able to keep the animal, go to indycares.org and make an appointment to give it up at the shelter. It can take some time to get an appointment, but the shelter offers resources to help you take care of the animal in the meantime.
- Note: If you keep an animal for 14 days, it’s now your responsibility to take care of it.
I lost my pet. What should I do?
- Post about losing your pet on Facebook, Nextdoor, Indy Lost Pet Alert or Petco Love Lost. You can make a profile any time with your dog or cat’s photo, name and your contact information on Petco Love Lost, and then activate the profile if your pet goes missing.
- Call Indianapolis Animal Care Services, the city’s shelter that is responsible for taking in strays, at 317-327-1397. Owners have four days to claim their pet from IACS, and you have to claim your pet in-person at the shelter, which is at 2600 S. Harding St.
- Once Indianapolis Animal Care Services has held an animal for four days, the animal can be adopted or sent to another area shelter to make room at IACS. Check the list of other shelters and call them, too.
- If it’s been more than four days, you can make a public records request to find out if someone adopted your pet. On the form, choose government records, then Department of Business and Neighborhood Services and pick animal care records.
- If your pet has a microchip, check that your contact information connected to the chip is correct.
I need to rehome my cat or dog. What should I do?
- If you want to keep your pet but are struggling with the cost of food or medical care, you can get help from Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IndyHumane. They can also connect you with training for a pet’s behavior issues.
- Try to find a friend or family member who can take the pet. You can post on Adopt-a-Pet, social media or neighborhood pages like Nextdoor.
- Make an appointment to surrender your animal to Indianapolis Animal Care Services.
- People often dump pets at shelters without sharing any information or going through the correct process. If you do drop an animal off at IndyHumane, be honest about your pet’s medical and behavioral history. It takes the shelters longer to figure out if they can get an animal adopted if they have to assess it.
Where to find resources to keep your pet
- IndyHumane and IACS have resources to help you keep a pet in your home. IndyHumane has a Pet Resource Center with pamphlets of information in English and Spanish. It also offers food, crates or medicines. Follow signs for the Pet Resource Center at IndyHumane at 7929 N. Michigan Rd.
- If your animal needs veterinary care that you can’t afford, you can get a reduced rate at IndyHumane.
- You can also email Indy CARES at indycares@indy.gov or fill out a request form to get support through IACS. Indy CARES is a program meant to keep animals with their owners and out of shelters. It offers behavior training, food,supplies and resources for veterinary care.
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Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young covers services and resources. Contact her at sophie.young@mirrorindy.org.
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