Indianapolis Animal Care Services announced Dec. 6 that they are out of space at their 2600 South Harding Street animal shelter, urging people in a post online to adopt pets.

Adopting a pet makes room for the next animal that comes into the shelter, officials said. Same-day adoptions are an option, according to the online post, and foster-to-adopt options are also available.

“That’s the truth. We are completely out of kennel space, and animals are continuing to come in,” the post read. “The only way we can save more lives is if pets leave the building today.”

The situation is particularly dire for dogs, according to an updated post on Facebook. There were 227 dogs in the shelter and 210 kennels, putting the shelter at 108% capacity. There were 61 cats and 91 feline kennels, putting capacity at 67%. Shelter officials said they try to operate at about 80% capacity to ensure they can provide quality care and be prepared for emergencies.

The post said that short-term fostering of animals still helps make room and space needed at the shelter.

Kelly LaRoche with the shelter told IndyStar that they are over capacity, “which unfortunately has become our normal operating state.”

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“At this point, we have no open kennels available for incoming animals,” LaRoche said. “When we say we urgently need adopters today, that is not an exaggeration. Without adoptions or fosters creating space, we have nowhere to safely house the animals still coming through our doors.”

LaRoche said they only put animals in the same kennel if they come to the shelter as a bonded pair or if they were previously living together. As long as their behaviors are calm and neither is sick, they can share one kennel.

Placing animals that don’t know each other together creates a risk of fighting and injury, according to LaRoche, as well as the possibility of spreading disease.

“We anticipate needing adopters and fosters not just today, but every day for the foreseeable future,” LaRoche said. “The pressure on space does not let up, and our intake as an open-admission municipal shelter does not stop.”

Here’s how you can help

If you have questions about adopting, you can email the shelter at adoptions@indycares.org.

You can find out more about individual animals at the shelter by checking out their posts on Facebook.

Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.