Home For The Holidays

Our team rushed to rescue the family before any vehicles could harm the swans. Spooked, the parents flew away during the rescue, leaving our team with six adorable three-week-old cygnets.

Trumpeter Swans are an endangered species in Indiana. This specific group of swans was believed to be the largest Trumpeter Swan clutch to hatch in Indiana since modern bird watching records began in 2017.

Over the next two weeks, our staff worked with volunteers from Indiana Audubon to locate the parents before deciding to raise the cygnets at the Wildlife Center. Trumpeter Swans are the heaviest-bodied birds in North America. During their rehabilitation, the charming, child-like cygnets grew rapidly from tiny, fuzzy white chicks to large, grey adults with huge appetites to match their height, reaching a whopping weight of 20 pounds (9.07 kg) in just weeks! During the cygnets' six-month stay at the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, the food cost alone was nearly $1000 for just these six cygnets.

The adult cygnets were soon moved to our largest flight enclosure, where they stretched their wings, and swam. After roughly five months of specialized care, our staff released the cygnets to a safe location in Lake County.

In the spring, a two-week-old Sandhill Crane colt was brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center for care after a dog carried it away, causing the bird's parents to flee. Other than being extremely shy, he was otherwise healthy.

Once in our care, the Indiana Dunes State Park provided the bashful colt a stand-in taxidermy adult Sandhill Crane “mother” to calm him down and make him more comfortable, helping him not to cry, stress, and overeat.

As he grew into a fearless adult bird, the colt worked on his flying skills often, practicing many short, running leaps and spending more time lofted in our flight enclosure. Due to the Sandhill Crane's tall stature and long legs, a varied diet with increased protein and calcium was essential to provide proper nutrition for the colts sudden growth.

Once he was ready, the team released the colt to the Jasper County Nature Preserve to join the flock of 20-30,000 Sandhill Cranes that migrate through the Region.

We must purchase 40,000 meal worms and 630 mice every two weeks to feed local injured wildlife who need medical assistance.

The hardships that families face place pets into stressful situations and cause strain on shelter space and resources.

Many sweet dogs, like Cousin Ittsy, have been displaced at the Humane Indiana Shelter and Adoption Center, often frightened, confused, and in poor health.

Humane Indiana experienced a record intake of surrendered and abandoned pets this year—a 9% increase—resulting in an imbalance in shelter work flow. Along with the intake increase, pet adoptions have decreased by 5%. Keeping up with the number of incoming animals while finding homes for long-time residents has been our greatest challenge.

By donating, adopting, and/or fostering pets, you keep the shelter operating.

Recently, we extended our clinic hours and expanded eligibility for low-cost services to more pet owners in Northwest Indiana. We have quicker appointment times thanks to the expertise of our new clinic veterinarian, allowing us to provide more routine care, such as vaccines, spays, neuters, preventative maintenance, and more.

Low Max is a pet client that regularly comes in to receive services at the Humane Indiana Estelle Marcus Pet Clinic with his owner, Cheryl. A few years after receiving Low Max, Cheryl's son, his original owner, sadly lost his life; the family considered surrendering the dog due to the cost of caring for him. They were worried about being unable to keep him updated with vaccines, preventative care, and ensuring he was all-around healthy.

The Estelle Marcus Pet Clinic helped Cheryl and provided the care and prevention Low Max needed at a lower, more affordable rate. If the clinic had not been available, Low Max would have likely been surrendered and no longer be part of the family he grew up with and knew.

For a full list of clinic services and qualifications for low-cost care, please visit here.