By Renee Krejci

Indy Humane launches new ad campaign

Former U.S. Rep. Andy Jacobs, Jr. is pictured with a smile on his face, hugging his Terrier, Hank. He isn’t posing for a holiday card. Jacobs is one of 24 local celebrities featured in the Humane Society of Indianapolis’ new “Love them all like you love your own” advertising campaign. It is the organization’s biggest in more than five years.

“About two years ago, we started to think about a communitywide campaign that would show the connection between pets and their people,” says Katherine Simons, director of community relations for the Humane Society of Indianapolis. “We thought using local celebrities would be a way to draw attention to those connections.”

Other celebrities featured with their pets include Colts offensive tackle Ryan Diem with his Mastiff, MacKenzie; Mari Hulman of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and her Greyhound, Ginger; Emmis
Communications Corp. Chairman Jeff Smulyan; and Butler University President Bobby Fong.

The print campaign will last throughout 2008 with the possibility of extending into 2009. All of the
celebrities and photographers donated their time for the cause.

Simons says the organization hopes that more people will turn to shelters as their first choice when they want a pet. “Our hope is that the campaign will highlight the human-animal bond and help the
community understand that their support of the shelter is crucial to the well-being of the pets we care for,” she adds.

For more information on the Humane Society of Indianapolis, visit IndyHumane.org.

 

Mysterious bird deaths could be result of too much pesticide

The state chemist’s office is conducting an investigation into whether dozens of dead birds on a Randolph County property are the result of misapplication of a pesticide used to control the birds.

On Feb. 13, Allen Hutchinson found dead and dying starlings falling out of two trees on his 50-acre farm. Using a pitchfork, he dumped about five dozen of the dead birds into a trash container and saved six of them in his freezer. While removing the birds, his two dogs scooped some of them up and began fighting over them.

Judy Loven, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says pets should not be allowed to eat dead starlings, but that they would have to eat a large quantity in order to be poisoned by the pesticide. She advises anyone who finds a dead bird on their property not to touch it with their hands.

If the deaths were caused by pesticide, an investigation will be conducted to determine whether any regulations were violated and if the directions on the label were followed correctly.

Animal Outreach promotes low-cost spay and neuter

Fed up and disappointed with the lack of leadership at local shelters concerning euthanasia rates and spay and neuter programs, Shelbyville resident KerryAnn May decided to take things into her own hands—specifically her own home. The cofounder of Circle City Animal Allies and a volunteer for a variety of welfare organizations, May founded Animal Outreach of Shelby County, an organization that encourages responsible pet guardianship, advocates for feral cats, and promotes affordable spay/neuter for all people with pets. May uses her home as a pickup point for pet guardians who want to take advantage of a low-cost spay and neutering program. Once a month, pets are picked up at May’s house by Pets ALIVE, a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in Bloomington. The animals are transported to the clinic and then returned the next day.

“I’ve received a tremendous response from the public wanting affordable spay/neuter. In only two months, I’ve quickly outgrown my home!” May says. “We’ll continue to use it until we find a larger space, but I hope to find a larger space in the next two months.”

May says she plans to file for federal nonprofit status this summer, but in the meantime she will continue to fight for change in her community. In 2007, the Shelby County Animal Shelter euthanized 557 dogs and 790 cats.

“There is certainly a lot of work to be done in Shelbyville to improve the conditions for homeless animals,” May says. “I hope the community steps forward, including individuals, businesses, and government, because there is a role for anyone concerned about the status of dogs and cats in our city.”

If you would like to get involved with Animal Outreach or find out more information, visit ShelbyPets.com.

Local volunteers create dog beds for Kentucky shelter

What do you get when nearly 30 people put their heads and hands together? In Paige BeMiller’s case, 30 dog beds. The Bed & Biscuit Kennel owner got the idea to construct dog beds for a shelter in Harlan, KY, after speaking with her friend Margie Swift, who rescues and transports dogs from the shelter. In Harlan, the dogs—including puppies and expecting mothers—were forced to sleep on concrete.

“It’s so sad the dogs are on the concrete,” says BeMiller. “Concrete pulls moisture out of joints. The beds prevent them from getting cramped up, get them off the concrete, and help their hygiene.”

BeMiller contacted leaders from local Boy and Girl Scout troops and 4-H to help with the project. Between emails and word of mouth, she found herself with almost 30 volunteers.

“What impressed me was that I had so many complete strangers show up and say ‘we want to help,’” says BeMiller. She recruited Cindy Baker, a 4-H judge, to run a sewing workshop. BeMiller, who admits to having no sewing knowledge, cut PVC pipe donated by Automated Irrigation and measured and cut donated material.

On Saturday, Feb. 2, volunteers as young as 7 years old helped construct the hammock-like beds, made of PVC pipe and bright blue material. BeMiller said they had enough pipe to meet their goal of 30 beds, and then made an additional 19 cloth covers.

Swift then transported the beds to the shelter the following Monday. Mandy Frommel, rescue coordinator at the Harlan County Animal Shelter, said the shelter is grateful to everyone who worked on the project and got the beds there. “The shelter was very excited to get the new beds, and they are working out great,” she says.

Though BeMiller didn’t make it to the shelter to see the happy dogs herself, it isn’t stopping her from doing the project again next February. “We’re planning on making it an annual thing,” she says. “We did it out of the kindness of our hearts for the right reasons.”

ASPCA initiative encourages target communities to “go orange”

When you see orange, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) wants you to think animal welfare. Through ASPCA Mission: Orange, the organization has partnered with several target communities across the country, providing them with educational and financial resources as well as training opportunities to increase adoption rates of animals, among other goals, as a way of attaining “humane-community” status.

The cities of Austin, TX; Gulfport-Biloxi, MS; Philadelphia, PA; Spokane, WA; and Tampa, FL make up the target communities for 2007. Through Mission: Orange, the organization has made a three-year commitment to each of these communities to enable them to raise shelter adoption rates 10 percent by the end of 2007 and to achieve a 75-percent save rate for shelter animals by 2010. ASPCA is engaged in an ongoing pursuit to incorporate other communities throughout the country into this initiative––eventually empowering them to actively promote and establish high levels of animal welfare. —Melissa Wiley