Combating Animal Cruelty Requires Dedicated Focus

By Kathy Roudebush
June 12, 2026

DeKalb County couple charged with 45 counts of cruelty — May 2026

After alleged abuse by DeKalb County woman, dogs get second chance — January 2026

Huntington County Humane Shelter temporarily closed due to large scale hoarding case — January 2026

Wabash County Animal Shelter closes for a day after large intake of abandoned animals — May 2026

The headlines come at us regularly. Of course, they’re not just headlines. They represent trauma and cruelty for animals, exhaustion and anguish for shelter professionals and volunteers, and increasing expenditures of both tax funds and donor dollars for crisis management.

But it’s not enough. It seems recently that with each new year, we declare it the worst we’ve seen for animal abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, in many years we’re right.

We’re often left feeling helpless. What can any of us do?

Many of us have heard the Upstream Parable. Often used to illustrate the benefit of primary prevention, that we should address a problem’s root cause rather than just its symptoms, it goes something like this:

Two friends are having a picnic by a river when they hear a puppy drowning.

They dive in and rescue the pup. As they make their way back to the shore, another puppy appears in the river, then another, then another. Overwhelmed, one of the friends gets out of the water and begins to walk upstream. The other friend shouts, “Where are you going? We need to save the puppies!” The first friend replies, “I’m going upstream to find out who is throwing the puppies in the river and stop them.”

Where is upstream?

Humane Fort Wayne Executive Director Jessica Henry-Johnson recently noted, “Animal shelters cannot keep up with the influx of hoarding, cruelty and illegal commercial breeding northeast Indiana.” She’s right.

We are at an inflection point and must begin to address more than the results of this crisis. We must commit to moving upstream, addressing the root causes of animal neglect and abuse, working alongside one another to achieve our goals.

What work lies upstream, you may ask. How can we each help?

Advocacy: Strengthen our laws.

Each year, municipal, county and state legislative bodies enact laws that impact us all. Often, meaningful legislation that could ease the crisis of animal abuse is proposed. But only rarely is there a groundswell of popular support reaching out to legislators to persuade them.

We need to act. How? With letters, emails, texts, phone calls and even appearing in person to support helpful legislation and oppose legislation that sets us back.

Each of these methods, directed to legislators who are considering bills for passage, can both inform and persuade them. Conversely, if no one other than shelter staff appears at hearings or sends letters of support, legislators remain unaware of public sentiment.

Connect with local municipal and nonprofit shelters on social media to learn of opportunities to help. All area shelters and Humane World for Animals have a strong social media presence and work tirelessly for stronger laws in Indiana.

Action: React as a community when instances of cruelty and abuse occur.

A recent example was in response to the DeKalb County couple who ran a puppy mill. Staff and volunteers from Humane Fort Wayne attended the initial court appearance of the couple charged with abusing 43 Australian shepherds and will be there for the next hearing at 9 a.m. July 22 at the DeKalb County Courthouse. Join us.

Humane Fort Wayne initiated a letter-writing campaign asking the DeKalb County prosecutor to pursue the maximum charges/penalties. The office received letters from animal lovers in northeast Indiana and learned of the community’s interest in justice.

Showing prosecutors that our community supports tough stances against animal abusers empowers them to push cases forward rather than negotiate plea deals. Voice your concerns.

Education: Educate ourselves and others about animal cruelty and abuse so that we recognize it.

Puppy mill owners work diligently to hide their gruesome practices from buyers, as do pet stores. But there are signs we can all learn and share with our families and friends so that no one makes the mistake of supporting a puppy mill.

Learn the signs and share them. As always, if you see something, say something.

Alliances: Work together in a unified way.

Responding in great numbers shines a spotlight on animal abuse and cruelty.

Together, we can work to end the torrent of animals in need in northeast Indiana. I hope you’ll meet me upstream.

This op ed originally ran in the Journal Gazette on June 12, 2026. You can read the article in its original form here.