The Humane Society of Indianapolis and other close affiliates are experiencing increased overcrowding of homeless animals in their facilities.
In light of this, Butler should actively give back to our community organizations that help our four-legged friends.
“We are actually budgeted for 300 animals and we have 550 in the system right now,” Christine Jeschke, director of shelter operations at the Indianapolis location, said.
According to Indy.com, the Noblesville location is overcrowded by nearly 100 pets.
The overcrowding is due to our struggling economy. In an article from the Indianapolis Star, Jeschke explains this.
“[People} are downsizing into smaller [living spaces] that don’t have yards and are moving into apartment complexes where they can’t take their pets,” she said. “They literally have no choice but to turn their animal in to a shelter.”
Some people just can’t afford to feed their pets anymore.
In any case, people’s lives have been turned upside down by the economy. They have to change everything, give up so much, and find their pets a new home in area shelters.
The Humane Society of Indianapolis is just 15 minutes from Butler’s campus, located on Michigan Road. Being a nonprofit, the organization relies heavily on volunteers. They have openings every day of the week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., so there is a time slot for any schedule.
The Humane Society also relies on foster parents for animals. Fostering lessens the overcrowding in the Humane Society buildings and provides a better environment for animals that need close care.
If you don’t have the time to volunteer or room to foster a pet, consider donating a percentage of your income to the Humane Society.
The Humane Society puts $600 into each animal that they take care of. With so many overcrowded facilities it becomes increasingly expensive for organizations to house pets, but it costs under $150 to adopt a pet.
Instead of continually breeding animals, people should be looking to help those that already need a home.
This past May I chose to adopt my dog Willow, from a rescue organization called P.A.W.S. Similar to the Human Society, P.A.W.S. is a great organization that helps animals find a home and people find their best friend.
Want to get class credit for helping out? Butler offers a physical fitness course called “Walking, Wagging and Wellness”. In this class you go to the Humane Society twice a week and spend time with the animals as well as help the people that work there.
“The other day we helped clean the cages and did laundry to take time off the hands of the employees,” senior Stephanie Tutterow said. “The number of animals is always fluctuating and they always seem stressed out about it.”
This is a serious problem around the county that needs to be identified and accepted. The treatment of or pets is a reflection on our society and we are currently overlooking this facet.
With our community involvement, the Humane Society’s overcrowding could be drastically lessened, if not eliminated completely.
