Animal Intake

If you had found a stray cat, kitten, dog or puppy, our first suggestion would be to take the animal to a nearby Veterinary Clinic to have it scanned for a microchip. If the animal is microchipped, the Vet can give you the microchip ID code and the phone number of the microchip company. You will then be able to call the company for contact information on the pet’s owners if the family has registered the pet. There is the possibility that the animal is microchipped but not registered. In that case, ask the microchip company who originally purchased the microchip and that may give you some identifying information that would help get the animal home.

Check online resources like Indy Lost Pet Alert and Fido Finder for postings of lost animals.

In the case that the animal is not microchipped or the microchip does not offer any contact information, we suggest you contact the nearest county animal shelter. There are county and state laws, which usually mandate a 30-day stray hold, to allow the owner adequate time, in which to locate their lost pet. While we may be able to assist you, we too must follow county and state laws and cannot place animals in new homes, until these mandated stray hold times are up. We rely completely on our volunteer and foster homes to care for any animals we take in to our system. If our foster space is full and you are unable to keep the animal until we can take it into our foster system, we will try to assist you with other alternatives (i.e. rescue groups) so that you don’t have to take the animal to a kill shelter.

Please email us at general@hopemariesfund.org with any questions. When contacting us about an animal, please provide everything you know about the animal including whether it has been spayed/neutered, is it current on shots, etc.

Owner surrenders take a lower priority in our system so we may help the homeless animals first. Owners wishing to surrender their animals should post an ad on Petfinder.com or contact the local Humane Society. Also, please read the article entitled “Can We Help You Keep Your Pet?” Often people feel they must give up their pets for various reasons. In this article, hopefully you’ll find some alternatives and be able to keep your animal.

With careful consideration, time, and work, you may be able to find a great home for your pet if you truly have no alternative. This most often takes quite a bit of time, so give yourself as much time as possible, plan way ahead to find the best home. There are many frauds out there too, your pet could end up dead, or worse, if you’re not careful enough finding that home. The fact is there are many more pets than good homes. Another good article for you is this one entitled “Finding a New Home for Your Pet.”

Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. – and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. As a result, every year 4 to 6 million animals are euthanized because there are no homes for them.

*Information provided by SpayUSA and the Humane Society of the United States

SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PET! In addition to saving lives, spaying and neutering can also drastically improve your pet’s health and life expectancy. The idea that pets become fat or lazy when they are spayed or neutered is a myth. Sterilized pets lead healthier, longer lives. Spaying a female eliminates the possibility of uterine and ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the risk of breast cancer. Neutering a male reduces the risk of both prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. Neutering also will make your pet more affectionate and less likely to roam, get in fights, or become lost.