DANVILLE — A packed Hendricks County Commissioners meeting Tuesday drew overflowing crowds of animal advocates demanding answers about ongoing issues at the county’s animal shelter.
Community members filled the main meeting room and two additional overflow spaces as they pushed for better conditions at the nearly 20-year-old facility. Attendees raised concerns about heating outages, staffing shortages, leadership changes and what they described as a lack of transparency from county officials.
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“We’ve had the heater, the AC go out. I’ve had to host water park days at the shelter because the AC wouldn’t work,” one shelter volunteer said.
One shelter employee told WRTV the building needs its HVAC system replaced, a major renovation that would require temporarily relocating all the animals.
County commissioners pushed back on some of those concerns, including the state of the HVAC system.
“The HVAC system is working, and it will stay on,” one commissioner said during the meeting.
The recent departure of the former animal control chief and shelter director, who spent more than a decade overseeing operations, added to community frustrations.
Janelle Williams, a veterinarian and volunteer, said the issues stem from communication gaps, not neglect by shelter workers.
“It feels like, from a community perspective, that this current staff did not take care of it, and that was not true,” Williams said.
Commission President Dennis Dawes told the crowd the county is taking immediate steps, including:
- Bringing in a contractor to assess all physical needs of the shelter
- Meeting with county animal agencies about concerns
- Allowing a nonprofit to assist with shelter-related support
- Reestablishing the county’s Animal Advisory Group
“A contractor will evaluate the shelter for all its physical needs and improvements that will be made,” Dawes said.
Several attendees requested copies of past service complaints to gain a better understanding of how long issues have gone unresolved.
“Hopefully, we can bring those service tickets to show proof,” one person said. “It was known.”
Advocates say problems at the shelter reflect a broader challenge facing animal care systems across the state.
“This isn’t just a Hendricks County issue,” one attendee said. “We are all seeing this crisis, and they need to get on board and figure it out.”
