Our Vision

A city where every animal is safe, loved, and homed and every person has the support they need to care for their pet with dignity and compassion.

A veterinarian or animal technician with purple gloves preparing medical supplies on a table while a woman in a dark uniform holds a medium-sized brown and white dog with a cone around its neck in an animal clinic or veterinary hospital.

Our Mission

To transform animal welfare in our city by improving the lives of animals and the people who care for them.

Our Values

  • Community

    We’re proud to be part of a unified animal welfare community so our city becomes a safe haven for all animals.

  • Compassion

    We can’t save animals without having compassion for the people who care for them.

  • Gratitude

    We’re grateful every day for the support we receive so we can continue to fund life-saving programs.

Our History

A lot has changed in 23 years but our goal remains the same: to improve the quality of life for animals in Indianapolis.

In 2003, things looked a lot different at Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS); Most animals that came in never made it out. Concrete kennels were eight feet wide and outdoor time was a luxury. This broke the heart of our founder Mike Shinn, who assembled a group of like-minded animal lovers and made a commitment to our city’s homeless and vulnerable animals.

“I knew we could be the change they desperately needed.”

Through hard work, fundraising efforts, and a lot of love, Friends of Indy Animals was formed.

The first accomplishments were small but mighty and tangible - building shade sails for the outdoor kennels to protect dogs from the heat of the Midwest sun, shoveling more gravel into the runs to cover up mud and glass that often seeped through the layers of landfill that the shelter grounds were built overtop of.

These projects grew into funding long-term endeavors like Indy CARES, a now permanent program that supports people who want to keep their pets but need help to do so.

Our work has produced amazing results. We’ve supported the adoption of thousands of animals. We’ve saved even more lives by supporting IACS in its efforts to achieve a 90% save rate. And we’ve connected countless volunteers with IACS, where they help meet the enormous needs of our city’s homeless animal population.

We’re proud of our past and even more excited about our future. We helped fund a brand-new shelter for IACS through a $7 million capital campaign and are thrilled to celebrate its grand opening this spring.

To join us in our mission, donate today.