While all of the shelter dogs, cats and rabbits are spayed or neutered prior to adoption (per Indiana state law), we cannot perform spay/neuter surgery on pets at this time. Check with the very capable clinics we have listed.
We occasionally offer a microchip or vaccine clinic on a specific day – watch our social media for announcements.
If you adopted from MHS, we can show you how to cut your new cat’s toenails. But we cannot do it for you regularly.
If you are having a hard time purchasing pet food, call us to see if there’s something on the Feeding Hope shelves that will help.
Since the pandemic, the number of pets surrendered to shelters across the country has grown. We simply cannot keep track of all the requests at this time.
If you’re looking for a specific breed of pet, online services like Petfinder.com and Adopt-a-Pet.com offer nationwide searches. We do not have the set-up to keep track of everyone’s wish lists!
Check our website for all of our currently adoptable pets.
Reptiles and amphibians have very specific housing requirements. Please look for a rescue organization that is set up to best care for them.
We do not have the appropriate licensing to care for wildlife. We suggest you contact Humane Indiana Wildlife in Valparaiso
Tel: 219.299.8027
There are many very reputable boarding facilities in our area, or contact your veterinarian’s office. We do not have the capacity to board pets.
We compare what each applicant’s home and lifestyle offer to what each individual pet needs. It’s important to us that pets receive veterinary care, so we’ll reference your veterinarian. And we want your new pet to be allowed to stay with you, which is why we do landlord checks.
Every day that we hold an adopted pet, we turn away a different pet because there’s not a cage available. If you need a few days to get organized, we will hold your pet under these conditions: the adoption fee has been paid in full and you pay a $10/day fee for our shelter staff to care for the pet while it’s at the shelter. These arrangements must be made at the time of adoption.
We do not do rabbit meet and greets.
We know you are sad to give up your pet, but we find that it is easier for animals to adjust to new circumstances if they are not confused by the appearance of people from their past. It would be better for you to phone us and let us give you a report.
We chose to hold lost animals for 7 days.
Microchips do not work like GPS! But animal care facilities around the country have microchip readers that will lead them to the owner and a reunion. Be sure to update your microchip records if you move or change contact information!
You never know for sure how things will go until you take a pet home. If you find that it is not working, we will do what we can to help out. Check out the Surrender page for more information.
We are proud that over 96% of the animals we take into our care each year end up being adopted or transferred to a specialty rescue organization. We do not use the term “no kill” because of its negative connotations.
We will euthanize a pet only if it’s quality of life has diminished due to physical or mental decline, or if it has become a danger to our staff or the community.