Inhumane Society of the Dunes

We are the Inhumane Society of the Dunes, a citizen watchdog group investigating the operations of the Humane Society of the Dunes from Chesterton, Indiana. The Humane Society of the Dunes has pulled over 100 animals from Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) and other animal shelters across Indiana.

We are searching for the updates or whereabouts of any pets that have been rescued by the Humane Society of the Dunes. If you have any information please share with us via our contact form. Thank you!

‼️$200 for proof of Gerald the cat’s whereabouts. Have you seen him? If you fostered or adopted him, or if you know something, please reach out.‼️ Please share this post!

Gerald was “rescued” by Humane Society of the Dunes on May 21, 2023. He was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services before HSotD pulled her. The founder of the rescue is Jane Hullsiek and the rescue is based out of Chesterton in Northwest Indiana (NWI).

Although “rescue only” animals are normally posted by the IACS Shelter Rescue Team page (formerly called IACS Rescue), there was no post made by them about Gerald. Oftentimes the rescue coordinator at IACS would reach out to rescues privately without posting the animals publicly, so this was not an uncommon occurrence.

Gerald was rescue only because he had a fractured right femur. He was just 4 months old when he went to Humane Society of the Dunes.

When Gerald left for Humane Society of the Dunes, Jane pulled 3 other cats from IACS on the same day:

• 👉Jill (10 years old, persistent URI and bad teeth)
• 👉Nugget (7 year old Siamese, possibly needed enucleation, was pregnant but miscarried several fetuses)
• 👉Mochi (healing from dental surgery and toe amputation, heart murmur)

After these cats went to Humane Society of the Dunes, no updates were ever posted about any of them. They went to the rescue with no accompanying pledges because none of them had been posted by IACS. Even though Jane took in several cats who would need further vet care that day, she never posted any fundraisers for their care.

No fosters or adopters of any of these cats have come forward, and Jane Hullsiek has not been forthcoming with updates when asked previously.

Where is Gerald today? There is $200* available to anyone who knows the answer to that question and is willing to provide some proof. It’s never too late to tell the truth. Gerald would be about 2.5 years old now.

• *$100 from the admins of this page
• *$100 from a generous supporter who is offering money for animals we post

⁉️Have you seen this dog⁉️ please share

Offering $200 for proof of Daisy the dog’s whereabouts. Last year, Jane Hullsiek claimed that Daisy got adopted and gets along with the family cat.

Daisy was “rescued” by Humane Society of the Dunes on June 17, 2023 along with another dog (Twyla) and three cats (Ms Cali, Cauliflower, and Tootie).. She was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team (formerly called IACS Rescue) before Humane Society of the Dunes pulled her. The Humane Society of the Dunes is based out of Chesterton in Northwest Indiana (NWI).

Daisy was “rescue only” at the Indy shelter because she had raw and itchy skin, had bloodwork that indicated she had hypothyroidism, and had blood in her urine. Daisy was a “frequent flier” at IACS, having been there a few times before. Staff and volunteers at IACS had nice things to say about Daisy including that she thought she was a lap dog. Daisy was given a euthanasia deadline because she started exhibiting kennel stress. The day she was scheduled to be euthanized, Humane Society of the Dunes pulled her from the Indy shelter.

Jane never posted anything about Daisy until February 2024 when she posted a flurry of unusual updates about several of the IACS animals. Many of the updates Jane posted had dogs next to a chain link fence. We suspect that like most of the updates she posted, this photo was taken by Jane on her own property and not by the supposed adopter. The photo was also obviously not current given the green vegetation. We’d like to speak to whomever adopted Daisy and get a real update.

Just today, we successfully talked to the very first legitimate adopter we’ve found from Humane Society of the Dunes after over 100 days of posting animals, and we paid for the privilege. We are also offering $200* for proof of Daisy’s whereabouts and answering a few questions. If you know what happened to her, please reach out.

• *$100 from the admins of this page
• *$100 from a generous supporter

Offering $200 to have a conversation with the adopter of Mr. Handsome and obtain proof of his current whereabouts.

Mr. Handsome was rescued by Humane Society of the Dunes in December 2023. The founder of the rescue is Jane Hullsiek. He was one of the last three animals Humane Society of the Dunes was allowed to pull from Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team (formerly called IACS Rescue) before they stopped allowing her to pull animals. She pulled ~110 cats and dogs from IACS before they stopped allowing it.

Mr. Handsome had a number of health concerns which put him on the “rescue only” list at IACS, including skin issues possibly caused by food allergies, blood and crystals in his urine and a UTI, and abnormal findings in his bloodwork.

After Mr. Handsome went to Humane Society of the Dunes, he was quickly adopted. Jane claimed he was adopted by an employee at the vet clinic she uses, Westchester Animal Clinic. IACS Rescue shared two photos provided by Jane in which the background does not appear to be at Jane’s house (unlike most of the other “updates” she posted). She also posted an “update” with the same photo of him a few months later from the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page.

We believe that Mr. Handsome was really adopted and that the photos really were from his adopter and not Jane. Of the 110 or so animals she took from IACS, this is one of the only ones we are willing to say that about. We are offering $200* if the person who adopted him would be willing to have a conversation with us wherein we can get a few questions answered and also receive proof that Mr. Handsome is doing alright now. Please reach out to us. (*$100 from the admins of this page, $100 from a generous supporter)

In December 2023, on Mr. Handsome’s “freedom ride” post by IACS Rescue, a long comment chain ensued in which Jane’s detractors got into an argument with her, with her commenting back from the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page. That’s probably best saved for another post, but it got heated and although Indianapolis Animal Care Services is a government organization and they are not allowed to attempt to limit free speech (something they’d gotten in trouble with the ACLU for a mere month previously), IACS limited the comments on the post for a while before changing it back to allow comments, presumably when it was realized that they were stepping into another Constitutional crisis 🥴

‘IACS Rescue limited who can comment on this post.’

This was one of a number of times in which IACS silenced or attempted to silence people who expressed concerns over Humane Society of the Dunes and what happened to the animals that went there. In fact, between 2019 and 2023, 9 different people that we know of reached out to the IACS rescue coordinator at the time expressing concerns, and if they couldn’t provide concrete proof, their comments were deleted, they were blocked (again, over a matter of public concern, by a government organization 😒) or threatened with blocking. One of those 9 people had previously taken Jane to court over a missing cat, and another claims that Jane trapped her whole colony of community cats and when she inquired of their whereabouts, Jane told her they were better off dead than outside. Two others who reached out to IACS to express concerns are members of legitimate and well-respected rescue organizations in Northwest Indiana. Shelters have a responsibility to ensure that the animals in their care are placed in safe situations. In addition to a history of stifling free speech, IACS also has a history of prioritizing placing animals over ensuring that it is an appropriate placement, to put it mildly. Live release rates are not more important than the safety of the animals when they leave the shelter.

‼️‼️Offering $200 for information about what happened to Jeff the cat‼️‼️

Jeff was “rescued” on March 17, 2023 by Humane Society of the Dunes. He was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS Shelter Rescue Team) before HSotD pulled him. The founder of the rescue is Jane Hullsiek and the rescue is based out of Chesterton in Northwest Indiana (NWI).

Jeff was not publicly posted by the IACS Rescue page, but from public records we know he was rescue only for bad ear infections. He had been taken to the Indy shelter after his owner was evicted and hospitalized. At the shelter, Jeff had a hematoma repaired in one ear and a healed hematoma in the other ear, and was wearing a cone. Unfortunately we only have the one photo of him. He was listed as a 5 year old neutered male who was friendly and his notes said he enjoyed chin scratches. Jeff was set to have his stitches taken out on March 23 at the Indy shelter but was rescue by Humane Society of the Dunes before that happened.

Jane never posted a single thing about Jeff. Without public records requests to IACS, we wouldn’t have known he existed. Jeff would be about 7 years old now and we are looking for his foster or adopter if they exist. Offering $200* to talk to someone who knows where he is and can provide proof & answer a few questions.

• *$100 from the admins of this page
• *$100 from a generous supporter.

Do you know where Shayla (now known as Trudy) is?

Shayla was “rescued” by Humane Society of the Dunes on September 26, 2023. She was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS Shelter Rescue Team) before HSotD pulled her. The founder of the rescue is Jane Hullsiek and the rescue is based out of Chesterton in Northwest Indiana (NWI).

According to her shelter notes, Shayla came to the Indy shelter because she was bonded to another dog who was injured and needed to be intaked. Shayla’s shelter medical history reveals no reason she was rescue only, although rescues often quickly pull small dogs from the shelter before they become available for adoption. The dog Shayla came in with did not go to rescue with her, although she was on the same IACS transport as two cats and one other dog up to Humane Society of the Dunes.

In February 2024, Jane posted an “update” about Shayla, the only time she’d been posted on the rescue’s social media. It stated “Shayla (now known as Trudy) is enjoying the outdoors with her ball.” Shayla’s update was different from most of the other “updates” she posted because it isn’t clearly identifiable as being in Jane’s home or yard, although like the other outside updates, it was likely not recent given the normal weather conditions in NWI in February.

It is interesting that Jane could provide an update on Shayla and Dorothy (including with new names), two small fluffy dogs that were never posted by IACS and had very brief shelter stays so they weren’t really well known (or known at all) to any IACS volunteers or staff, but she will not provide real updates on any of the larger pitbulls or shepherd type dogs (nor cats…) volunteers and staff have asked her about who were favorites and well-known. It’s almost like she continues to intentionally not understand what the purpose of an update is or why people who knew these animals might like to know what happened to them. We’ve confirmed that Dorothy, the other small dog we posted recently, was adopted by someone who lives a few hundred feet from Jane. Considering that Jane never posted any animals for adoption anywhere online, and we’ve yet to reach a single foster for her organization, our guess is Shayla was also adopted by someone Jane knows personally.

We’ve been searching for proof that the 110+ IACS animals Jane pulled were really adopted and/or fostered like she claims they were. If you know where Shayla is, reach out. We are offering $200* for substantial proof of her current whereabouts, and answers to a few questions.

• *$100 from the admins of this page
• *$100 from a generous supporter.

No money offered for this one - we know where she is 😐

Misty was rescued by Jane Hullsiek, director of Humane Society of the Dunes, on May 21, 2022. Misty was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team before Jane pulled her. Misty had been very fearful at the start of her months at the shelter, but by the time she went to rescue she was doing better but was still timid sometimes. She’d originally been surrendered to IACS by her owner who had her for two years but was losing his housing.

IACS alumna Misty with Greta in Jane’s home.

The IACS volunteer who transported Misty posted these right after Misty arrived at Humane Society of the Dunes. Jane’s dog Greta is shown in the middle photo.

Misty was one of at least seven dogs that Jane told a transporter or IACS staff/volunteer or donor that she would keep over the years that she took animals from the Indy shelter.

• 👉Ethan (2020, in a photo provided to Indy’s Voice 4 Animals, it stated Ethan was with his sister Greta and his foster family had adopted him. Greta was Jane’s dog…)
• 👉Misty (May 2022)
• 👉Harkness (September 2022)
• 👉Nixon (December 2022)
• 👉Nino (January 2023)
• 👉Queso (March 2023)

IACS inspected the “Humane Society of the Dunes” in February 2023. It’s not what most people would picture when they hear “Humane Society”. It is a pole barn “shelter” on the private residence of Jane, not open to the public. When IACS inspected, there were no animals in the pole barn and Jane lied and said rescue animals did not go inside her house so IACS didn’t look inside the house (🙄).

There were three dogs in the yard at that time which Jane stated were her own dogs (Greta, Jack Dozer, and Misty). Ethan, Harkness, Nixon, and Nino, who she had stated she would be keeping were all absent at that time and the IACS report only mentions Nixon as a dog she owned currently. She claimed Nixon was at a “spa day”, although when a volunteer inquired about him later that year Jane stated she had rehomed him. There was no mention of the other dogs she had told people she’d be keeping.

IACS inspection report from February 2023

Photo taken by IACS staff member at the 2023 inspection of Humane Society of the Dunes, showing Misty and Greta in Jane’s yard

When Nixon was pulled at the very end of 2022 and shelter staff was arranging transport for him, a volunteer mentioned Misty in the comments of his post, and an IACS staff member stated that she knew Jane had kept a male dog she’d pulled the previous year who was super scared and came in as part of 4 dogs. We aren’t sure which dog she was referring to given that there weren’t any animals listed in 2021 outcome reports from the shelter as going to Humane Society of the Dunes (and none publicly posted by IACS Rescue went there in 2021), and the only dog who we know of that she “kept” prior to that was Ethan in early 2020, and he was not a fearful dog and he was a stray, not coming in with four dogs like she stated. The staff member who stated that had firsthand knowledge of all the rescue animals that went to Humane Society of the Dunes, so either the outcome report IACS provided to us in the public records requests was incomplete (it was missing at least four cats we know went there also) or she was misremembering the timeframe. Whichever is the case, it’s another example of Jane claiming she’d keep one of the IACS animals then not actually doing so, because whoever the fearful dog was, he was gone by February 2023 when IACS inspected.

An IACS staff member mentioning another dog Jane claimed she was keeping

Jane did, however, keep Misty. A person in her neighborhood has seen Misty in the last few months, so we know she is still with Jane. We don’t know what made her get rid of all the others, but keep Misty. In February 2024, after concerns about Humane Society of the Dunes had been brought up at an IACS advisory board meeting, Jane posted a flurry of unusual “updates” about many of the IACS animals. Two of them were photos of Misty with a kitten, taken inside her house. Most of the other updates posted were also taken by her inside her house or on her own property with her implying they were “updates” on the IACS animals.

An update posted about Misty by Jane during a flurry of other ‘updates’ about IACS animals

another photo of Misty posted within an hour of the other update

We aren’t offering any money for Misty’s whereabouts. We are glad she appears to be healthy and happy. However, we are offering money for information about the whereabouts of the other ~109 animals Jane took from IACS. If you fostered for or adopted from Humane Society of the Dunes, please reach out.

A photo of Misty taken by an IACS volunteer in 2022

$200 for proof of Samantha the cat’s whereabouts! Please share

Samantha was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) and IACS Shelter Rescue Team (formerly called IACS Rescue). She was “rescued” from the Indy shelter on March 15, 2020 by Chesterton-based Humane Society of the Dunes in Northwest Indiana (NWI), run by Jane Hullsiek.

Samantha was never posted by the IACS Rescue page until her “freedom ride” post, but we have some information on her from public records requests to IACS. She was adopted 3 times from IACS between 2016 and 2020.

Samantha was first at IACS in 2016 as a kitten. She was adopted and came back in July 2019, declawed but with no notes entered about her health otherwise. She was adopted a second time and was only gone a few months before she was returned again at the end of December 2019. She was noted to be a little overweight during her third stay at IACS, and the shelter vet at the time noted she may have bone fragments in her paws based on radiography, leftover from the declaw surgery. She was started on gabapentin and her notes say to consider a consult with another vet for possible paw repair. She was adopted again soon after in January 2020 (her third adoption), and her notes said it was okay to discontinue the gabapentin because she didn’t appear to be in pain.

Once again she found herself back at the shelter in April 2020, surrendered by her third adopter for house-soiling (an issue that can be common in declawed cats). Her notes stated she returned very overweight, over 3 lbs heavier than she had been just a few months before during her last shelter stay. At the shelter she used her litter box and soiling outside the box was observed only when she was given a small litterbox, but it improved immediately when given an appropriately sized litterbox for a large cat. Six days after she found herself at IACS for the fourth time, she was sent to Humane Society of the Dunes.

Humane Society of the Dunes never posted a single thing about Samantha on their now-deleted Facebook page. We’d like an update on Samantha and will pay $200* for proof of her whereabouts and answering a few questions. If you know where she is, reach out. She’d be 9 years old now.

• *$100 from the admins of this page
• *$100 from a generous supporter

🤔Still waiting on updates about Diego…

Diego was “rescued” by Humane Society of the Dunes on March 14, 2020. He was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) and IACS Shelter Rescue Team (formerly called IACS Rescue). Jane Hullsiek is the director of Humane Society of the Dunes and the rescue is from Chesterton in Northwest Indiana (NWI).

Diego was “rescue only” at the Indy shelter because he had a prolapsed rectum that had prolapsed again after surgical repair at the shelter. This is common at the shelter for prolapse repairs to do poorly, so he needed to find a rescue to heal. Shelter staff described him as happy, silly, friendly, and smart. He did well meeting other dogs there too. Diego waited for rescue, and eventually he received a deadline where he needed to leave the shelter or he would be euthanized. Indy’s Voice 4 Animals pledged money for Diego to be paid directly to the vet of whichever rescue pulled him, which they did for many euthanasia-listed dogs.

Humane Society of the Dunes pulled Diego and took him to their vet. Indy’s Voice 4 Animals made both a post and a video featuring Jane with Diego at the vet. It was stated more than once that Diego would be going to a foster home or had found a foster home.

On the “freedom ride” post by IACS Rescue about Diego, Jane commented that she would update as he progressed. Other than the two Indy’s Voice 4 Animals posts, no updates were ever posted about Diego. He was never featured on the (now deleted) Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page.

Where is Diego now? He’d be about 7-8 years old. If you fostered or adopted Diego, or if you know where he is now, please reach out. We are offering $200* for proof of his current whereabouts and answering a few questions. Please share!

• *$100 from the admins of this page
• *$100 from a generous supporter

Twizzler & Baconator were “rescued” by Humane Society of the Dunes in September 2022. They were originally at IACS Shelter Rescue Team (formerly called IACS Rescue) and Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) before HSotD pulled them. The founder of the rescue is Jane Hullsiek and the rescue is based out of Chesterton in Northwest Indiana (NWI).

Baconator (female) and Twizzler (male) were “rescue only” because Baconator had a bad eye that needed to be removed. Twizzler came in with a black kitten named Ash who also needed an eye removed. Baconator was a singleton/orphan kitten that the Indy shelter added in with them for companionship. Humane Society of the Dunes pulled all three kittens from IACS.

Humane Society of the Dunes pulled over 50 cats from IACS between 2019 and 2023. Yet they only ever posted “updates” about 3 cats they’d pulled, two of which were questionable (see our previous posts about Littles and Bucky, and Asher). Their Facebook page was recently deleted. When donors reached out to the rescue in early 2024 asking for updates on animals they had donated for, Jane stated she would send their letter to her lawyer then stopped responding. They never posted anything about Ash, Twizzler, or Baconator.

We are offering $200* per kitten for proof of their whereabouts today. They’d be 2.5 years old now and the female tabby would likely be missing an eye. They may be together, and/or with a male black cat missing an eye as well. Please share!

• *$100 from the admins of this page
• *$100 from a generous supporter