Indianapolis, IN

‘These animals matter:’ Indy law aims to end backyard breeding, create pet registry

Published

2 weeks ago

July 9, 2024

‘These animals matter:’ Indy law aims to end backyard breeding, create pet registry

Difficult situations at the Indianapolis Animal Care Services shelter intake are part of the job. But Dayna Warren, who worked in intake for three years, noticed a disturbing trend.

Female dogs were dumped at the shelter heavily pregnant or even as they were giving birth. Litters of puppies were relinquished in such poor conditition that they had to be euthanized.

One day Warren recalled, a female dog and her puppies arrived after IACS confiscated them. The owner came to be reunited with them and when she was told there would be a reclaim fine, she agreed to pay but she had a request first.

“She asked if she could just get one of them real quick, so she could sell it in the parking lot to be able to get them all,” said Warren, who now works in the medical department.

Backyard breeding, where people breed dogs without the experience or knowledge to do so safely and responsibly, often lies behind such sad tales. The prevalence of backyard breeding has led Indianapolis to face an “animal welfare crisis,” Chris Roberson, a volunteer at Indianapolis Animal Care Services, said.

For the past six months, Roberson has been working with city-county counselors to find a solution. On Monday, the council introduced a proposal that would create a registry for dogs who aren’t spayed or neutered as the first step in legislating this issue.

If a dog owner isn’t a commercial breeder or dog broker, they have to report any litters of puppies within two weeks of birth. The litter will receive a litter ID, which the owner must pass on if they sell or give away the puppies.

“The conditions these dogs are kept in are horrendous. It’s inhumane, the way a lot of them are being forced to live because there’s nothing that regulates it,” Warren said. “Hopefully, in the future, the only people who will be making money from dogs are people who actually care about them.”

What does the ordinance address?

Backyard breeders are creating more dogs than the city can handle. Dogs are dumped at overwhelmed shelters or are left on the street where the unvaccinated and unsocialized animals may attack people.

“It’s just a really unsustainable situation for the city,” Roberson said.

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Owners who choose not to spay or neuter their dogs will have to register them annually. The registration requires an annual veterinary exam, and female dogs can’t have more than one litter every 18 months or six litters overall. All dog and cat owners also must get their pets microchipped before they reach three months old, including puppies with litter IDs.

The ordinance focuses on education and outreach, Roberson said, so a first violation means IACS will reach out to owners. A second violation results in a $50 fine, which can be voided if owners schedule spay or neutering within 30 days, and a third violation leads to a $150 fine.

“The population of dogs is just kind of blown out of control,” Roberson said. “It’s caused that root problem that then percolates into all these other sort of issues, about the shelter being overwhelmed, and the public safety and public health concerns, etc.”

The ordinance’s authors looked at similar legislation around the country. While there’s no identical ordinance, Indiana cities like Bloomington and Fort Wayne have passed similar laws. Other cities that have passed similar laws have seen decreasing numbers of backyard-bred dogs after legislation was passed, said animal control officer Michael Stockton.

State law recently prevented Indiana cities from banning the sale of dogs at pet stores, which legislators said would increase transparency around adoption. However, many of these ordinances aimed to prevent puppy mills and increase shelter adoptions.

The new state law nullified a previous Indianapolis ordinance, which made it illegal for a pet store to sell dogs, cats and rabbits unless they were from a shelter or other rescue organization. It also ended a similar ban in Carmel.

While there’s always a concern that another state law could overturn this new ordinance, Roberson said the ordinance purposefully excludes commercial breeders and brokers, who are regulated by state law.

“By definition, it’s a very underground, unregulated practice, so we really don’t think that the state would preempt this,” Roberson said. “Honestly, to the extent that the state wanted to regulate backyard breeding, I think that would be an improvement.”

What comes next?

Ordinance authors stressed that this is the first part of a long-term solution — and with animal shelters struggling, enforcement is unclear.

The ordinance won’t end backyard breeding overnight, but Roberson said that even a 25% decrease in the practice would be significant.

“Part of it is shifting the community’s mindset in terms of where they’re buying dogs from, to the extent we can somewhat stigmatize backyard breeding and help the community understand that buying dogs from backyard breeders is not a good thing to do, for so many reasons,” Roberson said.

At the same July 8 meeting, councilors introduced a resolution formally updating the location for a new animal care shelter at 5001 E. Raymond St.

For years now, Indianapolis Animal Care Services has been facing overcrowding issues. The building wasn’t meant to house animals long-term, and there aren’t enough kennels for the shelter’s dogs: there are currently more than 100 dogs without permanent kennels, IACS deputy director Kelly Diamond said.

The organization called the situation “dire” on social media in 2022: as of May, 3,655 animals have been brought in and only 1,029 have been adopted.

“Our city’s overwhelmed with already-existing large numbers of dogs, and we’re simply just drowning,” Diamond said. “We’re just trying to tackle the causes.”

The backyard breeding ordinance now heads to the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee for a hearing July 15. Roberson also hopes the council will send more funding to the shelter in this year’s budget.

In the meantime, if people suspect someone near them is mistreating dogs or participating in backyard breeding, they can call animal welfare organizations Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside or Street Outreach Animal Response.

Animal welfare is tied to backyard breeding: fix one and you fix the other, Stockton said. He hopes to see improvement from the ordinance within a year or two, which would line up perfectly with the new shelter.

Contact IndyStar politics Pulliam fellow Nadia Scharf at nscharf@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @nadiaascharf.

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Indianapolis, IN

1 critically injured in shooting on near northwest side of Indianapolis

Published

3 hours ago

July 20, 2024

Press Room

1 critically injured in shooting on near northwest side of Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — A person was critically injured during a shooting on the near northwest side of Indianapolis Saturday night.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Udell Street on a report of a person shot. When police arrived at the scene, they located a victim with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.

The victim is currently in critical condition, per IMPD.

Public police reporting systems indicate officers were first called to the area around 10:46 p.m.

As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident had been made available.

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Indianapolis, IN

NASCAR Cup Indianapolis: Reddick beats Elliott for Brickyard 400 pole

Published

10 hours ago

July 20, 2024

Press Room

NASCAR Cup Indianapolis: Reddick beats Elliott for Brickyard 400 pole

Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota has shown speed since it first hit the track in Friday’s practice, when he was fastest in overall lap speed and in the 10-lap average.

He repeated his performance on Saturday, going fastest in Round 1 of qualifying and as the last car to make a run in the final round knocked Chase Elliott from the top spot with an average lap speed of 181.932 mph.

The pole is the second of the season for Reddick (his other came at Darlington) and eighth of his career.

Sunday’s race will be the first for the Cup Series on the oval course since 2020. NASCAR debuted at the track in 1994 and ran one Cup race for 26 consecutive seasons until moving to the Indy Road Course layout the past three years.

I made a mistake in Turn 1 but this Toyota Camry is so fast I was able to make it up the rest of the lap.

“I don’t know if you ever want to be loose here. It felt sketchy but it’s good speed and I’ve got to step up to the plate and deliver for everyone at 23XI Racing. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, but first pit stall selection will be key.”

Because of NASCAR new oval track lineup procedures, Reddick’s team co-owner Denny Hamlin will actually line up alongside him on the front row. Elliott will start third, William Byron fourth and Kyle Larson fifth.

Completing the top 10 will be Ty Gibbs, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, last year’s winner on the Indy Road Course Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek.

Round 1 / Group B

Reddick, who was fastest in practice on Friday, continued to show speed and led Group B with an average lap speed of 182.637 mph.

Elliott was second quick (182.430 mph) while his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson was third fastest (181.627 mph).

Also moving on to the final round of qualifying were Stenhouse and Blaney.

Among those who failed to advance from Group B were Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher.

Round 1 / Group A

Hamlin, the last car to make a qualifying attempt, rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with an average lap speed of 181.690 mph.

McDowell was second fastest (181.638 mph) while Gibbs was third (181.638 mph).

Also advancing to the final round of qualifying from the first group were Byron and Nemechek.

During his hot lap, Austin Cindric got loose and hit the Turn 4 wall with his No. 2 Ford although it did not appear to do much damage.

Among those who failed to advance, in addition to Cindric, were Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell.

Indianapolis, IN

NASCAR returns to the Brickyard: History of Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval

Published

17 hours ago

July 20, 2024

Press Room

NASCAR returns to the Brickyard: History of Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval

The NASCAR Cup Series is back on the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 after a three-season hiatus.

There has been good and bad throughout the 27 Cup Series races at the IMS oval, and those experiences have helped tell the story of why oval-reliant NASCAR shifted to the road course at the world’s most recognizable oval in 2021 and back again.

Here’s a quick run through the history of NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

NASCAR debut at Indianapolis in 1994

NASCAR first approached the idea of running a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1992 with a tire test. A year later, IMS and NASCAR announced the race date for the first weekend in August 1994.

Think of IMS and the Indianapolis 500 at that time as the motorsports version of Augusta National and the Masters in terms of exclusivity and exposure. The Masters takes place in early April, and that was the lone major golf tournament at Augusta National year-round. The Indianapolis 500 took place throughout a few weeks in May, and that’s all race fans around the country saw of IMS until the next year’s race.

The inaugural Brickyard 400 was a true spectacle in the modern history of NASCAR. Eighty-six cars entered the race for 43 spots. Among other drivers, 59-year-old A.J. Foyt made the field while Charlie Glotzbach failed to qualify in his final career Cup Series race attempt.

Jeff Gordon, who moved from California to Indiana as a kid to jumpstart his young racing career, won the inaugural race after a late-race duel with Ernie Irvan. The Charlotte Observer’s Tom Higgins wrote in the next day’s edition that “there are predictions (the Brickyard 400) will widen the popularity of Winston Cup racing.”

The 400 almost instantly became one of the crown jewel events on Cup schedule, and the popularity of NASCAR did increase through the 1990s and 2000s. Until it stopped.

Kissing the bricks is Indy tradition, born from the Brickyard 400 and Dale Jarrett in 1996

The Brickyard 400 has had a long-term impact on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 in at least one aspect.

After wining the 400 in 1996, Dale Jarrett and crew chief Todd Parrott led their Robert Yates Racing team to the brick-laid start-finish line to kiss the bricks at the Brickyard.

The late Scott Brayton did kiss the bricks after winning the pole for the 1995 Indy 500, but Jarrett, Parrott and the entire No. 88 Robert Yates Racing team sealed the tradition with a postrace kiss of the bricks.

Kissing the bricks is now synonymous with winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, much like drinking milk in victory lane.

Tire issues in 2008 was lowpoint of the Brickyard 400

NASCAR and Goodyear have never missed the mark so badly as they did with the tire they brought to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008.

The track failed to take on rubber throughout the weekend, leading to major tire degradation during the 400. Several cars suffered cut tires and major damage because of it during the race, forcing NASCAR to stagger competition cautions and use extra tire sets to get through the full 160 laps. NASCAR president Mike Helton even joined the ESPN broadcast booth to assuage concerns.

The race, won by Jimmie Johnson, contained six competition cautions for tire wear, with the longest green-flag run at 13 laps. By the end, race pace had notably slowed as drivers shifted into survival mode.

“You don’t need me to tell you what happened on Sunday was a joke,” The Charlotte Observer’s David Poole said to lead off his race-day observations in the July 28, 2008, edition of the paper.

“The lamest spectacle in racing,” read one headline in the July 28, 2008, edition of the Indianapolis Star.

Race shifts to IMS road course in 2021

Attendance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway sagged significantly in the 2010s, and the quality of racing waned.

Still, it was notable in the fall of 2020 when NASCAR announced the IMS race date would take place on the road course in 2021. The Cup and Xfinity Series ran races on the IMS road course from 2021-2023, and both the track and the racing wasn’t a clear step up. For one, the inaugural Cup road course race featured an issue with curbing through turns 5 and 6, which caused multiple issues and many wrecked race cars for simply trying to race through the corners.

But it also was the preeminent oval-racing series in the world running a road course at the preeminent oval track in the world.

That has changed in 2024, and the Brickyard 400 is back.

NASCAR Indianapolis: Brickyard 400 previous winners

2020: Kevin Harvick
2019: Kevin Harvick
2018: Brad Keselowski
2017: Kasey Kahne
2016: Kyle Busch
2015: Kyle Busch
2014: Jeff Gordon
2013: Ryan Newman
2012: Jimmie Johnson
2011: Paul Menard
2010: Jamie McMurray
2009: Jimmie Johnson
2008: Jimmie Johnson
2007: Tony Stewart
2006: Jimmie Johnson
2005: Tony Stewart
2004: Jeff Gordon
2003: Kevin Harvick
2002: Bill Elliott
2001: Jeff Gordon
2000: Bobby Labonte
1999: Dale Jarrett
1998: Jeff Gordon
1997: Ricky Rudd
1996: Dale Jarrett
1995: Dale Earnhardt
1994: Jeff Gordon

NASCAR Cup Series Indianapolis race TV schedule, start time

Green Flag Time: Approx. 1:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, July 21
TV coverage: NBC (watch FREE on Fubo)
Radio: IMS Radio Network (102.5 FM in Nashville)
Streaming: FUBO (free trial available); NBC Sports app (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required).

The Brickyard 400 will be broadcast nationally on NBC. Streaming options for the race include the NBC Sports app and FUBO, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

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