FIDO Indy

FIDO Indy was founded in 2005 to improve the lives of dogs living chained outside through humane education and direct assistance to their families. Over the past 20 years, FIDO Indy has expanded our services to the community. We serve over 2,500 dogs from over 1,000 low-income households in Indianapolis annually. FIDO Indy is staffed with 12 employees and over 100 volunteers.

FIDO Indy’s proactive “alley outreach” finds outside dogs in need and offers assistance to their families. We also respond to calls for help from families with dogs through home visits. Our veterinary outreach program brings basic, quality-of-life care to client dogs. Our spay/neuter program removes barriers to spay/neuter by scheduling, transporting, and funding surgeries. We reach many dogs who have reproduced multiple previous litters and are helping address the dog overpopulation crisis in Indianapolis. FIDO Indy’s fencing program provides large, secure enclosures as a humane alternative to tethering and promotes public safety by keeping dogs securely contained in their own yards. The FIDO warehouse is open to the public two days weekly, assisting clients with pet food and other basic pet supplies. Many of the clients served are elderly, disabled, and veterans.

FIDO Indy works to remain frugal, and requests donated fencing material, dog houses, and dog inside training crates that we clean, repair, and re-purpose. Also, we can acquire, through donations, a portion of the nearly 200,000 pounds of pet food that we distribute annually. However, with the increasing needs of the Indianapolis community, FIDO Indy must purchase the majority of these dog supplies and materials. In addition, our spay/neuter clinic fees have recently doubled and have become one of our greatest expenses. Lastly, although our outreach veterinarian is a volunteer, the diagnostics and medications used must be purchased, another larger expense.