Learn more about Mutt Strut and volunteering at the Humane Society of Indianapolis.

To celebrate all of the Best of Indy winners, NUVO welcomes you to their Best of Indy Party this Saturday, July 31, beginning at 2pm. Buy your raffle tickets at the event to win great prizes - proceeds from ticket sales benefit the Humane Society of Indianapolis!

In addition to the Best of Indy, this week’s edition of NUVO features an in-depth story about IndyHumane’s recent changes and our vision for the future.

So, pick up a copy of NUVO in our David Horth Adoption Lobby, and we’ll see you at the Best of Indy Party this Saturday!

Vote if you:

• have taken pet-training classes at the Humane Society of Indianapolis
• appreciate positive, reward-based obedience techniques
• just want to support pets in need at IndyHumane

IndyHumane’s Canine Training School offers a variety of classes for puppies, “tweeners,” and mature adult dogs, including “Reality” class, which offers dogs and their families the opportunity to learn obedience skills in various fun settings around Indianapolis such as the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple (pictured).

Thank you for voting! We appreciate your support.

No matter what your answer is, bring your pooch to IndyHumane on Saturday, July 31, between 11:30am and 2:30pm to have the students from Harrison College School of Veterinary Technology give your pups a bath for a minimum donation to support the animals in our shelter at their annual dog wash. 

Harrison College School of Veterinary Technology proudly supports IndyHumane. They’ve been our title sponsor for Mutt Strut the past two years, and the School provides us with externs throughout the year to help care for the animals.

We appreciate everything they do for Indy’s animals, and we hope you’ll visit us and let the students clean your canine!

Update: Harrison College kindly requests a minimum $10 donation to wash small and medium dogs, and a $15 donation for bigger pups.

Temperatures in cars can quickly rocket past 100 deadly degrees in the summertime, even if the windows are cracked and the car is parked in the shade.

If you see a dog left in a car, you can do a few things:

1) Try to find the owner. If the car’s at a business, let the store manager know about the dog and ask them to make an announcement asking the person to remove the dog from their car due to the danger of the heat.

2) Call Indianapolis Animal Care and Control at 317.327.4622 to report the abuse. If the animal is in obvious and immediate danger, don’t be afraid to call 911.

3) The ASPCA has a great info sheet which you can leave in/on hot cars containing animals.

According to Indianapolis municipal code, Sec. 531-207. - “Domestic animals in vehicles: (a) It shall be unlawful to leave a domestic animal unattended in a vehicle when the conditions in that vehicle would constitute a health hazard to the animal.”

Remember that it’s important to do what you can to help animals, but it’s also important to consider your own safety - some people may become angry if confronted, so if you find the owner and you feel threatened, leave the confrontation to the authorities.

I’m Samantha, a one-year-old, beautiful cat! I’m a long-haired feline looking for a loving, longtime home. While I would love all of your attention and would be perfectly happy as an only cat, I get along with other cats after a short while, too. I also enjoy being brushed and perching in windows. Visit me today - I could be your perfect match!

Thanks to everyone who has adopted, donated, volunteered and supported IndyHumane’s services and mission, especially in the past week!

Last week, our staffing and financial resources were at their limits, with almost 550 animals in our care. Since this announcement one week ago, we’re thrilled that 113 dogs and cats of all ages, breeds and sizes have been adopted into loving homes!

Thanks to your support, animals like Colby, a Chinese Shar-Pei/Bull Terrier mix adopted last week (pictured in his new home), find loving families almost every day.

The need is still great, though: our small team is working hard to behaviorally and medically assess and spay/neuter animals in our care so they can be placed for adoption as effectively as possible.

Though our budget allows us to care for 300 animals at a time, we’re still caring for 459: 335 at our shelter and 124 in foster care.

Right now, of the 459 animals in our care, 31 dogs and 107 cats are available for adoption - many others await spay/neuter surgery or are being given special medical or behavioral attention before they’re made available. Check our Available Dogs and Cats pages daily to see who’s up for adoption every day. We provide more special care for animals than ever before, so if you don’t find the perfect match today, odds are you will soon.

You can help the animals:

• Want a puppy? Open your heart to a more mature dog and you’ll likely have fewer messes to clean up yet receive just as much love!
• Make a charitable gift: sponsor an animal’s care, donate online or call the Humane Society of Indianapolis at 317.872.5650 x125.
• Donate items from our animals’ Wish List.
• Use the Low-Cost Vaccine Clinic at our shelter.
]]> Animal Welfare, Donations, Economy, News 2010-07-14T19:34:36+00:00 http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/mutt_strut_2011_poster_pooch_contest_winner/ http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/mutt_strut_2011_poster_pooch_contest_winner/#When:13:38:25Z Congratulations to Joey, the 5-year-old Pit Bull who will be the face of Mutt Strut 2011, the day the Speedway goes to the dogs!

Joey won the second-annual Mutt Strut Poster Pooch Contest by raising the most votes and donations from his fans. He’ll represent the greatest spectacle in dog walking, Mutt Strut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and will be featured on posters, t-shirts, and the first-ever Mutt Strut Pin-Up Pooches calendar along with the other top 12 dogs.

This year’s Mutt Strut Poster Pooch Contest, which concluded on Friday, featured 111 canine contestants. Voting and entry fees totaled more than $16,000, and all funds raised are considered donations to help the animals at the Humane Society of Indianapolis, an Indy-based and independent non-profit animal shelter. Thank you to everyone who voted for their favorite dogs, and thanks to all the dogs and their families who entered the contest!

See all the Mutt Strut Poster Pooch Contest winners and read their stories. And don’t forget to bark your calendar for Mutt Strut 2011 on Sunday, May 1 after you check out Joey’s story, submitted by his pet parents Nichole and Aaron:

Handicapped Pit Bull Loves Life!

My name is Joey. I was born with a condition called swimmers, where I couldn’t stand… so I’d “swim” on the floor to get around. I was surrendered to a Humane Society in California when I was 7 weeks old.

The nice people there took me to a specialty vet and helped me learn to walk. When I was 8 months old, my family saw me and adopted me on the spot.

I’ve received my Canine Good Citizen award and I’m a Pit Bull ambassadog for Indy Pit Crew. I live with a canine sister, Ellie Mae, two cats and a rabbit.

My family moved to Indianapolis 2 years ago and because of their experience in California, they decided to get involved with Humane Society of Indianapolis. My mom frequently plans fundraisers and my dad participates in the awesome Dogs N Suds adoption events!

For more Mutt Strut and IndyHumane updates, including information about the upcoming Mutt Strut Pin-Up Pooches calendar, subscribe to “Furr-e-mail,” IndyHumane’s monthly eNewsletter, or use your favorite news service to subscribe to the IndyHumane news feed.

]]> Dogs, News, Fun, Events, Mutt Strut 2010-07-12T13:38:25+00:00 http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/stretched_to_limit/ http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/stretched_to_limit/#When:16:28:10Z We’ve reached the limit of the number of animals we can care for with our current financial and staffing resources. Will you be an angel and help us care for more than 500 kittens, puppies and mature cats and dogs?

It’s easy for you to help!

• Lend your financial support: sponsor an animal’s care, donate online or call the Humane Society of Indianapolis at 317.872.5650 x125.
• Donate items from our animals’ Wish List.
• Use the Low-Cost Vaccine Clinic at our shelter.
• Have $5? Vote for the cutest dog in the Mutt Strut Poster Pooch Contest!

And don’t forget: until Friday, July 9th, you can adopt any dog or cat 4 years and up for just $17.76.

The Humane Society of Indianapolis has a balanced budget for 2010 that allows us to care for 300 animals at any given time. Due to the dramatic increase in the number of homeless and unwanted animals in the Indianapolis area in recent months, though, we’re currently caring for 550 cats and dogs.

Our Indy-based and independent shelter does not euthanize for space or time. IndyHumane currently has 150 cats and dogs available for adoption, with a total of 400 living at the 7929 N. Michigan Road facility and 150 more in foster homes. Though IndyHumane invests, on average, $600 in medical, behavioral and shelter services per animal, regular adoption fees remain low: as low as $35 for some cats, and $150 at the highest, for puppies.

An army of 250 animal lovers sponsoring an animal for $600 each will help us alleviate financial strains, though any gift will help the animals and our mission. Will you be an angel for our animals today?

]]> Animal Welfare, Donations, Economy, News 2010-07-07T16:28:10+00:00 http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/big_night_out_the_melting_pot/ http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/big_night_out_the_melting_pot/#When:12:36:56Z

From July 1 - July 31, 2010, dine at the Melting Pot and help animals in need!

Order the “Big Night Out” entrée any time in July, and the Melting Pot Restaurants of Indianapolis will donate $1 to the Humane Society of Indianapolis. No flyer required!
 

]]> Donations, News, Fun 2010-06-30T12:36:56+00:00 http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/featured_pets_baby_the_cat_and_cade_the_shepherd_mix/ http://indyhumane.org/index.php/hsi/article/featured_pets_baby_the_cat_and_cade_the_shepherd_mix/#When:16:50:25Z Looking for a canine companion who likes to take life slowly and who knows how to enjoy the great outdoors? I may be the guy for you. I am a two-year-old Shepherd Mix who weighs about 50 pounds. I’m looking for a calm, quiet home where I can learn to be as confident indoors as I am outside. Please visit me today!
See all of our available dogs!

I’m Baby, a sweet two-year-old, eight-pound female cat looking for a lap to curl up on. I’m friendly with cats and dogs, do well with children, and I love attention and especially having my head scratched. Please visit me today!

See all of our available cats!
]]> Cats, Dogs, News 2010-06-29T16:50:25+00:00