Who We Are

We are a tax funded (municipal) animal shelter located in Rushville, Indiana. We provide full service animal control within the city limits of Rushville and limited animal control service for those who live outside the city, but within Rush County. We do not turn away or charge a fee to surrender to our shelter. We only require that you are a Rush County resident and have photo ID showing your address is within Rush County.

We are not NO KILL, we identify as LOW KILL. Which means we do not euthanize for time or space, but will for behavior or medical care beyond our means. We do not have a time limit, as long as an animal is happy and healthy, they are welcome to stay with us for as long as they need. We do work with a large network of private rescues for those animals who need more than we can offer. We are not a private organization, such as a Humane Society. We are a public service, we will be limited on what we can do in regards to behavior or medical needs for animals. We do operate under a philosophy of 5 Freedoms. If we are unable to provide care to meet those 5 freedoms or find a rescue in a timely manner to take over care we will euthanize so the animal does not suffer.

Our budget is determined by the City of Rushville City Council. We are required to operate within that budget to provide our core services. Anything we do outside of those core services are if we receive monetary or item donations. We rely heavily on our community to be supportive so we may do a little more.

For additional information, visit the tabs on this website, call us at 765-932-4754, email us at animalcontrol@cityofrushville.in.gov, message us through our Facebook page: Rushville Animal Shelter, or visit us during business hours.

OUR SHELTER PHILOSOPHY, PURPOSE, AND PRACTICE

 Our Shelter Philosophy

Our Shelter’s Philosophy is to provide animals with a quality life while in our care. We practice the Five Freedoms principle to determine if quality of life is being met.

  1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
  2. Freedom from discomfort
  3. Freedom from pain, injury, or disease
  4. Freedom to express normal behavior
  5. Freedom from fear and distress

We must answer “yes” to all five freedoms for each animal in order to determine if we are performing our duty of care for a quality of life while in a shelter environment. If we are answering “no” to any of these freedoms, we must evaluate the animal’s individual situation and see if there is anything reasonable within our available resources to change the answer to “yes”. If we cannot reasonably provide all five freedoms, we must consider euthanasia as the best option for that animal.

Our Purpose

  1. We are a public animal shelter primarily financially supported through tax funds. Our duty is to serve our county residents
  2. We do not turn any animal belonging to or found by a county resident no matter how much space is available, how much money is available, or the reason for surrender
  3. We are compassionate and understanding, we do not openly judge those who are unable to or willing to meet the gold standards of animal care and responsibility deemed by those who have unlimited resources. We instead offer education and resources with the goal of helping pet owner meet at least the basic needs and responsibilities of their pet.
    • Refer to the above Five Freedoms for guidance
  4. When we can’t offer a service or solution we do our best to help by identifying an option that may be helpful

Our Practice

  1. We approach each potential adoption with an open mind and instead focus on informing and educating adopters. We may say no if we feel the shelter animal or another animal, or human being is at unreasonable risk of serious injury or death
  2. Our goal is to provide excellent customer service to the public and volunteers
  3. Our animal control goals are limited by resources we have available, the restrictions of law, and our community partnerships, but we are to do our best to provide animal control services to the best of our ability while providing excellent customer service
  4. All employees, volunteers, customers, and animals should feel safe at our shelter and out in the field
  5. Euthanasia will be viewed as its meaning – a good death. Each euthanasia will be performed with compassion and respect for that animal’s reason. No one should feel judged for their decision to euthanize. Ending a life, no matter the reason, is a complicated and emotional decision; it is not taken lightly. The decision to euthanize will be based on 1 question – is the alternative worse than death? There are many resources available to correct most reasons for euthanasia, but if those resources cannot be afforded then the alternative is worse as the animal goes without.