INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Animal Care and Services is asking for support as it is taking in more animals.
Due to the extreme cold and snow in February, 737 animals were taken in. In January, 614 animals were taken in.
"We were extremely low on dog space earlier this week and did request that our rescue partners, fosters, and the community assist us in getting animals out of the shelter," Brandi Pahl, chief communications officer for IACS, said in an email.
The shelter also saw a "significant decrease" in adoptions, Pahl said.
Because of the support from rescue partners, fosters and public adoptions, IACS hasn't needed to euthanize animals for space for the past several years, including last week, Pahl said.
"Euthanasia is not a decision that our staff ever makes lightly, but it is a decision we have to make when an animal is unsafe to place or when it is inhumane to keep the animal due to medical issues and the animals overall quality of life," Pahl said.
A behavior euthanasia requires two or more supervisors or higher-level staff to make the decision. A medical euthanasia requires a supervisor and medical team member to make the decision.
In the first two months of 2021, 171 animals were euthanized. That's down from 253 animals euthanized in the first two months of 2020.
"We always need people to adopt," Pahl said. "We are accepting new fosters, with the fosters for large dogs being our greatest need. While we had to put a limit on new volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are hopeful that we will be able to accept new volunteers in the near future."
To help eliminate overcrowding at the shelter, Pahl is asking for the community to help spray and neuter their pets, assist with trapping, neutering and returning community cats, and help reunite stray pets with their owners before contacting the shelter.
You can view the stats from the shelter here.
