INDIANAPOLIS -- IndyHumane, responding to criticism of choosing to help dogs from Texas instead of central Indiana animals, said its calling is to help animals from all over, sometimes beyond central Indiana.
Monday evening, IndyHumane accepted 60 dogs from El Paso, Texas when the animal shelter there simply had too many dogs. At the same time, Indianapolis Animal Care Services, the city-run shelter, announced it would have free adoptions in July because of overcrowding.
These announcements led many people to question -- why doesn't IndyHumane just take the dogs from IACS?
Steven Stolen, the CEO of IndyHumane, said it's not that simple.
"Really, capacity is driven by our ability to care for animals," Stolen said.
He said IndyHumane has to look at whether it will able to get those animals adopted out to the public before taking them in.
"It's based upon our ability to provide care for that animal, not just a kennel for them to live in," Stolen said. "It's more than folks think sometimes, that we just get animals, we put them in kennels, people come pick them up, they take them home, and everybody's happy."
Despite the misconceptions about the process, Stolen said it is a "reasonable question" for people to ask.
IndyHumane does take in some animals from IACS. Last year, the organization brought in more than 1,000 animals from IACS, Stolen said. IndyHumane is a private organization that takes no tax money, so it isn't required to take in animals from the city shelter.
Katie Trennepohl, the deputy director of IACS, said IndyHumane is still helping animals, something both organizations are committed to doing.
"At the end of the day, any animal's life is worth saving, so we respect that," Trennepohl said. "We do wish they would focus their efforts in central Indiana, but they're a privately owned organization, and they have the ability to pull animals from wherever they choose."
IACS has a capacity of about 420 animals. As of Tuesday afternoon, it has more than 890 animals at the facility and in foster homes, Trennepohl said. The influx of animals came from kitten season, impounding pets from the heat, and runs to pick up stray animals. Adoptions at IACS are free through July and include microchips, spaying/neutering, vaccinations, and heartworm or FIV/FeLV testing.
For more information about adopting from IACS, click here.
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