INDIANAPOLIS — Animal shelters across Central Indiana are dealing with overcrowding, but a coalition of organizations is working together using a grant to help dozens of families get their pets spayed or neutered.
WRTV's Amber Grigley joined the transport Thursday evening to see how this effort is helping Hoosier animals and their owners.
"We come in the morning, pick up their animals in our transport van, take them to one of the 3 clinics we're working with, get them spayed, neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and bring them home that evening," said Darcie Kurtz, Executive Director of Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside (FIDO).
Operation Indy Animals is a coalition of animal welfare organizations creating solutions to address what is considered a crisis inside shelters.
"We have this free neuter program available, and we want to really target it to those people in the community in greatest financial need," Kurtz said.
"There are so many animals out there in the community, and we need to prevent some animals from being born. We have too many already that we're dealing with," said Donna Casamento, CEO of Indy Humane.
Indianapolis Animal Care Services has a waiting list up to 4 weeks to admit animals. For some shelters, it's even longer.
"Even at Indy Humane, we have wait lists for people coming in to get animals, and we're not an open admission shelter like Indianapolis Animal Care Services is," Casamento said.
During Grigley's interview, she had to pause as a stray dog stopped by, causing a traffic jam.
"You saw him running; he could have caused an accident where people could have gotten injured in their cars, and we've got kids walking from school. We've got a gentleman on his bike. Not what our community needs to be," Casamento said.
As FIDO dropped off several pets Thursday evening after their surgery, Grigley met pet owners using the service.
Carolyn Oyatayo on the south side said she's had her dog Stormy for 3 years since she was 6 weeks old.
Lois Williams on the east side said her dog Keoni is 5 years old. "I got this house 5 years ago, and then I got a puppy," Williams said.
Both owners had different reasons for using the service.
"Because I don't want any more babies. I don't know, I went through that with Stormy, never again. And I didn't have her to make babies. That's my baby," Oyatayo said.
"I just went through retirement myself, and the funds weren't there to take care of them like I wanted to when I was going back and forth to work, had some illnesses, and just couldn't get it together," Williams said.
The program uses a $50,000 grant to provide the free services. Pet owners who need spaying or neutering services can apply online at no charge.
