Harkness
Harkness was “rescued” by Humane Society of the Dunes in September 2022. He was originally at IACS Shelter Rescue Team (formerly called IACS Rescue) and Indianapolis Animal Care Services before HSotD pulled him. The founder of the rescue is Jane Hullsiek and the rescue is based out of Northwest Indiana (NWI)
Harkness had a sad story. He was surrendered to the Indy shelter by his first owner, then adopted. When he was adopted in April or May 2022 by his second owner, he weighed 65lbs. When they surrendered him back to the shelter in September, he was only 40lbs. and a staff member described his condition as “skeletal”. His owners were cited for cruelty because there was no medical explanation for his severe weight loss such as a foreign body or illness.
Shelter staff described Harkness as a sweet, wiggly boy who gave kisses and leaned in for affection. Although he had suffered greatly, he was still just a wonderful dog. IACS made him “rescue only” because after two bad homes, they wanted “a rescue who is going to go the extra mile finding his forever home where he can be pampered and loved”.
Humane Society of the Dunes pulled Harkness and several other animals in September 2022 and the director, Jane, told the IACS volunteer transporter that she might keep him. This is the same thing she said about Nixon, Aric, and Queso, none of whom she adopted permanently (she “adopted” Nixon briefly but claimed she rehomed him for getting into a spat with her other dog and chasing her cats).
When a rescue animal leaves the shelter and goes to rescue, traditionally a “freedom ride” photo will be posted to show proof that the animal is on its way to rescue. The IACS Rescue page posted Harkness’s freedom ride photo from Jane on September 27, 2022, the same day he left the shelter. In it he was still visibly underweight.
A year and a half later, in February 2024, after very infrequently posting anything from their social media for the last several years, Humane Society of the Dunes went on a social media blitz, providing a number of unusual “updates” on mostly IACS animals they had pulled. They posted the same photo of an emaciated Harkness from the day he left the shelter, with the caption, “Harkness was adopted by his foster mom”. For some reason, Jane chose an old photo she took instead of asking Harkness’s foster for a more recent photo, perhaps one where he was back to a healthy weight so his shelter friends and donors could see how much he’d improved. You know, an “update”.
We are offering a $100 gift to anyone who can provide proof of Harkness’s whereabouts today. If you adopted him, we are just dying to talk to you and will pay for the privilege. You can DM our Facebook page, send us an email, or submit the contact form on our website. Harkness had two really shitty homes before he got “rescued”. There are a lot of people hoping for proof that he finally got what he deserved with Humane Society of the Dunes.
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