FIDO - Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside

If you believe an animal protection law is being broken, or if you have a dog-related emergency (a dog that is stray or abandoned, sick or injured, aggresive, dangerous, not receiving proper care, or barking uncontrollably), call the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4622, 7:30 a.m-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Mayor’s Action Center will forward your information promptly to Indianapolis Animal Care and Control (ACC). They are legally charged with enforcing animal laws in Marion County.

For after-hour situations, including sick/injured animals, dangerous and aggressive animals, and animal attacks in progress, call 317-327-3811 (the police after-hours dispatch line).

If you have a non-emergency situation, or if you or a neighbor need help or advice in improving the quality of life for an outdoor dog, contact FIDO. Please keep in mind that we are an all-volunteer group, so it may take a day or more for us to respond.

Your monetary donation could help give a formerly chained dog a safe, enclosed yard; a doghouse; straw to provide warmth; flea treatment to combat discomfort and disease; or a simple collar and leash to enable a much-needed walk.

FIDO is an all-volunteer group that relies exclusively on donations for our funding. We have 501 (c) 3 status, meaning your donations may qualify for a tax deduction.

Please donate to FIDO using PayPal (see Click to Donate, below) or by sending a check payable to FIDO to:

FIDO
P.O. Box 30069
Indianapolis, IN 46230

Your donated supplies will be used to help dog owners in need. We gratefully accept donations (new and gently used) of the following items:

• postage stamps - regular and postcard size
• thank you notes
• printer paper
• gas gift cards
• collars and leashes
• cable tie-outs/trolley lines - greater than 15ft long (no chains)
• kennel panels (6ft tall preferred)
• straw
• plastic doghouses/igloos
• topical flea drops
• fly repellant (FlysOff and SWAT)
• wire dog cages
• plastic dog crates
• spare crate parts
• buckets for water (empty cat litter pales)
• dog and puppy food (will take open bags)
• dog treats/rawhides
• dog toys
• bleach
• old prescription pill bottles

If you are interested in donating supplies, please email our supplies coordinator.

Be an advocate for dogs

Life outside is hard for dogs. Chained and neglected animals need all the friends they can find. If you see a dog that needs help, don’t turn away. Give us a call or join us in educating Indianapolis pet owners.

Volunteer

Here are just a few volunteer opportunities with FIDO. If none of these roles fits your skills or schedule but you still want to help, please contact us anyway. Chances are we can find a job for you.

Caseworkers: A small and dedicated crew of volunteers responds to the requests for help we receive through the FIDO phone line and from Animal Care and Control and concerned citizens. These volunteers determine what help is needed and then go into neighborhoods to work directly with dog owners. This job requires street smarts, some training, a time commitment of about 4-5 hours every 2wks, and the ability to work with all different types of people.  If you’re interested, let’s talk!

Outreach Day workers: Outreach Days are designed to focus on targeted areas in the city that have many chained dogs present.  Teams of 6-8 volunteers enter into the neighborhood with advice and supplies to help these dog owners offer a better quaility of life to their pets.  Volunteers can do anything from take notes, educate the dog owners or unload supplies during Outreach Days.  If you only have 1-2 Saturdays a month to spare, this is a great job for you.

Work crews: Are you handy (or even semi-handy) with simple tools and available on occasional evenings and weekends? If so, you can help us work with dog owners to improve their yards to make them more dog-friendly. Or you can help us build and repair dog houses.

Supplies Team: Since we are always in need of supplies we need volunteers who are willing to search for them in newspapers, online, at garage sales, etc.  This team is also in charge of making sure our supply warehouse is organized and stocked.

Drivers: Got a truck? We can use your help in picking up donated supplies and getting them to our warehouse or to dogs in need.

Educators: Are you a writer, a good public speaker, or an IT wiz? Help us spread the word across Indy that continuous chaining is no longer allowed and that there are better, more humane options! We can use help with publicity materials and our website. We also need people to distribute our materials and to represent FIDO at community events, street fairs, public meetings, etc.

Ethnic Volunteers: We are looking for all different ethnicities to help broaden the groups of people we communicate with in Indianapolis.  If you are Hispanic or African-American and an animal advocate we can use you.  Spanish speaking volunteers are needed to help educate, translate phone messages and printed materials.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the FIDO Volunteer Coordinator.