New animal shelter breaks ground on Indy's southeast side

INDIANAPOLIS — A new shelter has broke ground in Indianapolis with hopes to improve the well being of local animals.

Mayor Hogsett and Indianapolis Animal Care Services broke ground on the new shelter located at 5001 East Raymond Street on Monday.

The shelter will be up to 70,000 square feet and will feature natural light, noise reduction, outside space and a medical care suite.

"The current shelter was designed to hold animals for a stray hold so about 48 hours and then they were euthanized," Abbey Brands the Director for the Department of Neighborhood and Business Services said.
" It was never designed to be an actual animal welfare center."

According to IACS, as of June 10th 2024, the shelter is caring for 281 dogs, 108 cats and they are at 150 percent capacity.

The new shelter is located in the 46203 zip code which the city says is the second-highest number of calls for stray animals.

The city says the shelter will be designed to create a comfortable environment for animals to interact with potential owners and to help them find homes more quickly.

The city is still working on the final design plans which they hope to have finished in the next couple of months. The goal is to have the shelter built by 2026.

WRTV

In the mean time, the city says they are working with a consulting firm to review their policy, procedures and best practices. That way, once they get in the new building they don't have the same issues they are facing now.

"Anything that we can do to improve on with our volume with crowding with rescue partnerships we are not going to wait for a new building to get those things underway," Brands said.

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More information can be found here.