Local Hero – Mythbuster!
February 24, 2012 in Animal Shelter, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Adoptables, March 2012 by Tails Magazine
Rebecca Stevens fights ‘open-admission’
and Pit Bull stereotypes
By Brendan Quealy
Working at an animal shelter is not an easy task—especially when resources are low and things do not turn out the way you expected. For the staff of the Humane Society for Hamilton County (HSHC), their work is especially difficult because they are the only open-admission facility in their surrounding communities. “We serve as the clearing house for all of the other animal welfare agencies,” says Rebecca Stevens, the executive director of HSHC. “We are the only animal welfare agency that is open-admission—we don’t shut down no matter what.”
“Open-admission” means that the facility cannot turn away any animal for any reason, and because of that, they are often forced to euthanize animals due to a lack of space. But Stevens has made sure HSHC never puts down a healthy animal. In fact, Stevens is quick to point out that not only is HSHC different from the other local animal shelters, it is also different from many other open-admission facilities. “The animals who are hit by cars, the ones who are really sick, or whatever else you can think of—they all come here and every single one of them gets the same chance to live,” says Stevens. “We are very invested in ensuring that every animal lives despite how marketable or not marketable he might be.”
Humane Society of Indianapolis
Humane Society of Indianapolis
IndyHumane announced today that it will open its long awaited Animal Welfare Center on the near Westside at Holmes and West Michigan Streets in the Haughville neighborhood. The organization will be one of the first of its kind in the nation to provide animal welfare partner groups with phone lines, a physical address, and a presence in the city’s target neighborhoods.
