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!

Princess is the last of 116 animals that Jane Hullsiek of Humane Society of the Dunes took from Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team that we have posted. Most of those 116 are unaccounted for despite Jane’s claims they got adopted.

Of all the animals Jane took, she posted the most updates (4 posts and a comment) about Princess, who she called Princess Rose. For most rescues that’s actually a relatively small amount of updates/posts about an animal in their care.

Princess was rescue only at the Indy shelter because she had a strange gait, possibly caused by luxating patella(e). She came to the shelter originally after she was left chained in a basement, starving. She was described as very sweet and friendly by shelter staff.

Jane posted three photos of Princess in her own home the same day she left IACS (April 16, 2020). We know it’s Jane’s home because of the distinctive rugs which show up in almost all the “updates” she posted about the IACS animals plus her own pets. The next day she posted two more photos of Princess in her home, including a photo of an ill-advised meeting of her pet cat Mr. Gray with Princess, a rescue dog she had just brought home, with no separation and no leash to keep the cat safe. 🤷🏻‍♀️

She posted about Princess again in May and July of that year, with updates that again were photos taken in Jane’s home.

This is notable because these updates are seemingly legitimate updates, with apparent proof of medical care, spaced out over time, with substantial update information, unlike pretty much every other thing Jane ever posted (not legitimate updates). Perhaps Jane considered keeping Princess like she did with many other IACS dogs.

Jane also commented on an IACS post about Princess to say that she was getting along with her brother and sister, and the cats and bird (all Jane’s pets) and “enjoying her new home”. She neglected to tell the person it was her house.

After ~116ish days, we are definitely over the bullshit. Where is she, Jane? If she got adopted, how about you do the adopter a solid and tell them if they come forward by 11:59pm tomorrow (Saturday), we will give them $200 for proof of life for Princess and answering a few questions as to how she left your care.

Princess also went to rescue the same day as a cat named Jalopy, who never merited any posts or updates or anything from Jane. 😑

‼️$200 for proof of Kitty Man’s current whereabouts

Kitty Man was “rescued” by Humane Society of the Dunes in June 2022. He was originally at IACS Shelter Rescue Team (formerly called IACS Rescue) and Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) before HSotD pulled him. The founder of the rescue is Jane Hullsiek and the rescue is based out of Northwest Indiana (NWI).

Kitty Man had been at the Indy shelter for a little more than a week before Jane took him. He had been surrendered to IACS by his owner, and his jaw was misaligned and the owner said it was an old break from years previous. The shelter’s vet had scheduled a sedated exam and x-rays for Kitty Man but he went to rescue before that occurred. He also was suffering from an upper respiratory infection and had been kennel-stressed during his time at IACS.

Humane Society of the Dunes in Chesterton, Indiana pulled him from the shelter. On the same day Jane took Kitty Man, she also pulled three other substantial medical cases:

• 👉Arnie (dog with heartworm)
• 👉Roxie (dog, peeing blood, persistent UTI not responding to antibiotics)
• 👉Jerry (cat needing FHO surgery)

No updates were ever posted by Jane on the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page about Kitty Man, Roxie, Arnie, nor Jerry. The four animals combined had about $1250 in pledges from donors on the IACS Rescue page. Jane and many other rescues complained that oftentimes pledges didn’t get honored, so they didn’t receive all of that money usually. In addition to these four animals, Humane Society of the Dunes also pulled four other animals in June 2022: Rootbeer and Candi (dogs), Bucky and Daniel (cats). Rootbeer was a behavioral rescue, not medical, but Candi, Bucky, and Daniel were medical cases.

One might think that the rescue would need to do a public fundraiser of some kind on their page to help raise money for the medical needs of these animals. One might think that the rescue would post happy updates as Roxie’s urinary issue improved, or after Kitty Man’s broken jaw healed, or after Jerry had his FHO surgery, or after Arnie started heartworm treatment, or after Candi’s skin issues showed improvement, or after Bucky had his echocardiogram and dental surgery, or after Daniel got his dental surgery, or after Rootbeer showed behavioral improvements with training and enrichment and consistency. One might think the fosters of these animals would share them on Facebook as many fosters like to do. One might think the rescue would post an update when the animals went to their “forever homes”. However, it seems one would be wrong if one expected Humane Society of the Dunes to behave in a way most other rescues behave.

Did Kitty Man get the vet care he needed and get adopted into a loving home? We think it’s time to find the adopters and fosters of these animals. What will it take for one to come forward? Someone out there knows where Kitty Man and the others are. We are offering $200* for proof of Kitty Man’s current whereabouts. Kitty Man would be about 8 years old now.

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

Please note that this Saturday is the last day to claim the monetary incentive we are offering for these animals. If you know something, now is the time to speak up.

🚨Help us find Blue Bell!🚨

Blue Bell was “rescued” by Jane Hullsiek of Humane Society of the Dunes on January 14, 2020. She was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team before Jane took her.

She was rescue only at the Indy shelter because she was very depressed after both of her owners died a short time apart, and she ended up at the shelter. She was very sad and not interested in much of anything at IACS. Additionally, she had many masses on her body, and her teeth were in bad shape. She would need more medical care than IACS could provide. Indy’s Voice 4 Animals had pledged money for Blue Bell, to be paid directly to the vet of whichever rescue took her from IACS, and they shared her on their page.

The day after she took Blue Bell, Jane posted on the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page that Blue Bell was doing great and eating like a little piggy. The photos she shared were taken on the rug in her pole barn (“shelter”). This rug was shown in photos taken by IACS during their 2023 inspection of the barn in which no animals were present. This was the only time Blue Bell was ever posted on the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page. In a later comment, Jane stated that Blue Bell had been adopted and was well-loved, after having three surgeries and that she walked to the bus stop every morning with her owner and two sisters.

If you adopted Blue Bell, please reach out. We are offering $200* for proof of Blue Bell’s whereabouts and a short conversation. She’d be about 12 years old now. In a few days, we will no longer be offering monetary incentives to provide proof so if you know something, please reach out to us.

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

🚨Help us find Sebastian!🚨

Sebastian was “rescued” by Jane Hullsiek of Humane Society of the Dunes on January 9, 2020. He was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team before Jane took him.

He was rescue only at the Indy shelter because he needed TECA (total ear canal ablation) surgery. He was a staff and volunteer favorite at IACS. Indy’s Voice 4 Animals had pledged money for Sebastian, to be paid directly to the vet of whichever rescue took him from IACS, and they shared him on their page.

A few days after she took Sebastian, Jane posted on the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page that Sebastian was back from the vet and his ear canals were closed. Unfortunately our only screenshot of this post cuts off the rest of the text but our guess is it says he will be getting the TECA surgery. If any of our followers have the rest of the screenshot, PM it to us please. The photos provided in the Humane Society of the Dunes post were taken in Jane’s home, as evidenced by the decor and also a photo of Jane on the dresser. She also commented on Sebastian’s IACS Rescue freedom ride post that he was at the vet having his ears evaluated.

Photo of Jane on the dresser

This was the only time Sebastian was ever posted on the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page. What happened to him after that? Did he get adopted?

If you know where he is, please reach out. We are offering $200* for proof of Sebastian’s whereabouts and a short conversation. In a few days, we will no longer be offering monetary incentives to provide proof so if you know something, please reach out to us.

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

113 rescue animals unaccounted for 💔

Today, on World Pet Memorial Day, we want to take a moment to remember these pets, whose last confirmed whereabouts was with Jane Hullsiek of Humane Society of the Dunes based out of Chesterton in Northwest Indiana (NWI). Between 2019 and 2023, she took 116 cats and dogs that we know of from Indianapolis Animal Care Services, after which what happened to them is unknown. Their stories matter, and we are still hoping to find out what became of them.

Our page has posted one unaccounted-for animal per day for over 110 days. It was mid-February when we started. We have 4 left to post. This page was started in an effort to verify Jane’s claims that:

• Most of these animals went to foster homes
• Most of these animals got adopted
• All animals she takes in receive vet care
• Most of her organization’s adoptions occurred through her vet’s office
• She had 69 foster homes as of 2024
• She has a foster coordinator (Brenda)
• She has an adoptions coordinator
• She had 3 people running the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page before she recently deleted it
• She has 3 people answering the Humane Society of the Dunes email account
• She has rescued and adopted out 1000s of animals over the last few decades

We have been unable to verify pretty much all of those claims….

For over 3 months, our facebook page and this corresponding website have told the stories of these 116 animals with the hopes that an adopter or foster would come forward. These posts have been shared widely and our follower base has grown substantially and far surpassed the following Humane Society of the Dunes’ page ever had before Jane deactivated it when it started getting attention recently. We’ve even offered monetary incentives for adopters and fosters to come forward.

Yet despite our efforts, we only have confirmed the whereabouts of 3 animals (Jane’s own dog Misty, a dog Jane adopted to her neighbor, and a dog that really was adopted through her vet clinic, by a relative of a clinic employee). Her sister claimed she adopted one of the dogs as well, but would not provide even a photograph as proof. We’ve talked to a single adopter, and no fosters.

In addition to sharing these animals’ stories and asking for those who adopted them to come forward, we’ve highlighted inconsistencies in Jane’s stories over the years, such as when she tried to pass off a cat with a completely different coat pattern as an update about one of the IACS cats. Or when she lied and told IACS the rescue animals never came in her house even though most of the photos she ever shared of the animals were obviously in her house. Or when she claimed she rescued a dog in 2024 but it was a screenshot from her camera roll in 2017. Or when she claimed she rescued the same dog (named two different names) from both Gary and Chicago, but really she’d adopted him from another rescue.

Even during the time Jane was still allowed to pull animals from IACS (they stopped giving her animals after December 2023), there were always some unusual things about her rescue. No animals were posted online for adoption. The Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page was largely inactive, with only 0-5 posts most years. To adopt an animal, you have to first mail in an application, have a home visit, she would confirm your pet’s sterilization and vaccines with your vet, plus have a fenced in yard for dogs and live within 50 miles of the rescue, and if you had all that, you’d then be shown photos of animals to adopt. It was always surprising how although she took in mostly pitbulls with medical or behavioral issues (many of whom didn’t like other animals) and sickly cats from IACS, she never needed to make posts about them to fundraise for their care or market them to adopters like most rescues do.

Jane responded to our page precisely one time, early on, to tell us that one of the dogs, Emilio, had passed away at the vet, and to tell us how cruel we are. Soon after that, she deactivated her personal and rescue Facebook pages although we are certain she’s still keeping tabs. Since 2023 when her rescue started receiving substantial attention, Jane has never been forthcoming about the whereabouts of these animals she took from the Indy shelter. In early 2024, when a group of donors wrote a letter asking Jane for updates on the IACS animals, she responded quickly stating she’d forwarded the letter to her lawyer, then never responded again. Efforts by others to get updates from Jane have been met with rudeness.

Although we’ve been largely unsuccessful at finding the whereabouts of the IACS Shelter Rescue Team animals that Jane “rescued”, nor their adopters and fosters, one thing has remained constant throughout this page’s tenure - so many people have reached out to tell us they gave Jane animals over the years. We’ve always thought it strange that we couldn’t find anyone who adopted animals from Jane, but we found tons of people who gave her animals, especially cats. And almost all of them had the same story which boiled down to: “I gave her a cat. I asked for an update in the following days. She told me it got adopted. I was surprised at how quickly it got adopted”. And sometimes, “When I asked for a photo or to get in touch with the adopter, her personality changed and she got mad.”

This page is about IACS animals, but it’s about more than that too. We’ve been asked what’s next once we run out of animals to post, and this is not the end of it. There are so many things we’ve been working on behind the scenes, and we are hopeful to say more about that soon. Additionally, we continue to wait for the results of the Indiana Attorney General Consumer Protection Division investigation into Jane Hullsiek and Humane Society of the Dunes, filed by donors in April 2024.

We are announcing that 4 days from now, the day after we have posted the last IACS animal, we will stop offering money for adopters to come forward with proof. If you have something to say and want that money, now is the time to speak up. You’ve had plenty of time. Our efforts and energy will be shifting to new things once we are done posting If you know where any of these IACS animals are currently, please come forward.

It has always remained our hope that Jane’s claims these animals were adopted were true. We are still waiting, and still hopeful for the truth to be revealed. In the meantime, we will remember these animals and their stories, and never stop trying to find answers.

If you were ever going to share one of our posts, this is the one to share.

Acorn

Agnes

Alabaster

Alice

Alma

Angel

Aric

Arnie

Ash

Asher

Baconator

Bagheera

Baloo

Bishop

Blue Bell

Brisbane

Bucky

Buddy Pawly

Candi

Carmine

Cauliflower

Cherry

Chloe

Coco

Coffee Bean

Daisy

Daniel

Dex

Diego

Dorothy Phylis

Earl

Ellie

Elsie

Emilio

Eric

Ethan

Feather

Fuzzy

Gerald

Ghost

Glenwood

Graydee

Harkness

Hobbes

Hopscotch

Hudson

Ice Cream

Imzatti

Jace

Jalopy

Jasper

Jeff

Jerry

Jill

Kat

Keisha

Kenzi

Kit Kat

Kitty Man

Kiwi

Knuckles

Laurelie

Littles

Lucas

Lucy

Marcum

Mila

Mimzy

Minnie

Misty

Mochi

Morris

Mr Handsome

Ms Cali

Nancy

Ned

Nightshade

Nino

Nixon

No Name A306488

Noble

Nugget

Oppie

Oreo

Pansy

Patchez Rose

Pearl

Pebbles

Precious

Princess

Pudding

Queenie

Queso

Remy

Roman

Rootbeer

Roxie

Salo

Samantha

Sebastian

Shayla

Stanley

Starlight

Sugar

Tootie

Topanga

Topaz

Twizzler

Twyla

Vader

Veronica

Webster

Wesley

Whiskey

Zeus

Zuma

❗What happened to Hudson?❗Please share so we can find out.

Hudson was at Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) until he was “rescued” by Jane Hullsiek of Humane Society of the Dunes in Chesterton, Indiana (NWI) on November 4, 2022. He was one of 4 medical-needs cats that Jane took from IACS that day: Hudson, Asher, Baloo, and Nancy.

Hudson was never posted for rescue on the IACS Shelter Rescue Team, but from public records requests to the Indy shelter, we know that Hudson had been hit by a car and had fluid buildup in his chest, possible internal bleeding, and broken bones in his face. Some of his teeth had come out in the accident and his gums were lacerated. Euthanasia was considered for him and it was noted in his IACS medical file that if he declined, euthanasia would be elected. The shelter planned to do skull x-rays the following week and noted it seemed his jaw was broken. IACS noted he was very sweet and enjoyed belly rubs, and that his open wounds were healing well. Before any further diagnostics on his skull were done, he went to Humane Society of the Dunes.

All four of the cats that went to Jane that day had substantial medical issues:

• 👉Hudson (broken bones in skull, dental issues from the accident)
• 👉Asher (eye ulcer, possibly needing enucleation)
• 👉Baloo (arrived at shelter lateral, not moving, dehydrated, was on the mend but still wasn’t eating well and needed bloodwork and x-rays to determine what was wrong)
• 👉Nancy (fearful, had FIV and a number of health issues at the shelter - UTI and anemia which had resolved, not eating much, kennel stress)

The only one of these cats that Jane ever posted anything about on the Humane Society of the Dunes page was Asher. She shared a photo of him taken in her own home, where his eye appeared to be healed. She never posted any fundraisers for the medical expenses for these cats, two of whom came with no pledges and the other two had pledges totalling $170. She never posted any updates about the outcomes for Hudson, Baloo, and Nancy.

We are still searching for adopters or fosters for the 110+ animals that Jane Hullsiek “rescued” from Indianapolis Animal Care Services between 2019 and 2023.

If you know where any of them are, please reach out. There is a monetary incentive to do so.

For Hudson, there is $200* available for proof of his current whereabouts and having a short conversation with us.

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

Jane Hullsiek - WHAT HAPPENED TO MINNIE? 😒

Minnie was “rescued” by Jane Hullsiek, the director of Humane Society of the Dunes, an organization in Chesterton, Indiana (NWI). Minnie was originally at Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team before Jane took her on February 8, 2020.

Minnie was “rescue only” at the Indy shelter because she was very fearful with people she didn’t know, although she was sweet and loving with people she was used to. IACS had posted a darling photo of Minnie sleeping on someone’s lap at the shelter.

The same day Jane took Minnie, she posted three photos of Minnie that are clearly in her home. The distinctive blanket, wood accents, and spotted rug are shown in many of the photos of animals Jane posted, even though when IACS inspected her premises in early 2023, she lied and said that none of the rescue animals entered her home. Which IACS certainly should have realized was not true, given Jane’s comment on one of IACS’ posts about Minnie that Minnie slept in her bed the first night she was there (in addition to all the “update” photos of various animals that Jane sent with the same decor in the background….).

February 8, 2020

February 8, 2020

One of the same three photos of Minnie was posted by IACS Rescue the same day as a “freedom ride” photo, showing proof she had left the Indy shelter. Indy’s Voice 4 Animals had pledged money for Minnie when she had a euthanasia deadline at IACS. When Indy’s Voice 4 Animals pledged on euthanasia-listed dogs, it was typically with the stipulation that the pledge be paid directly to the rescue’s vet which was likely the case here, although we aren’t sure that Minnie would’ve required $500 in vet care (the amount IV4A pledged) plus the additional $785 in pledges from other donors. She was rescue only for being fearful, not for medical issues. Indy’s Voice 4 Animals posted two photos of Minnie, one from her time at IACS and one supplied by Jane, from the same photo series of Minnie on the bed in Jane’s home. In the post, it stated Minnie was doing well in her foster home, which again, was just Jane Hullsiek. There is no publicly available evidence that Minnie was ever in any foster home other than Jane’s.

Jane never shared anything else about Minnie from the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page. Just those three photos the day she arrived at her home, then nothing ever again.

Five months later, in July 2020, Jane updated her webpage to add photos of “rescues”. Minnie’s photo was included, the same one from February, with the caption, “Millie was a rescue the Humane Society of the Dunes took from Indianapolis, Indiana.” Whether Jane fostered her or not, it seems a bit strange that so often the only photos Jane could supply for the majority of the IACS animals were photos that she herself had taken in her own home within a day or two of rescuing the animals. She didn’t have any more recent photos of Minnie to use for the website? She listed her as “Millie”?

Jane did the same thing with another IACS dog named Kenzi, who she’d rescued in January 2020. She only posted one time about Kenzi on the Humane Society of the Dunes Facebook page, then never again. But 7 months later she uploaded a 7 month old photo of Kenzi to the webpage, which she had taken in her pole barn, but it was labeled “Sophie”.

So, are Millie and Sophie the names their adopters gave them? It’d be great to see a recent photo of these dogs instead of photos that were already posted when they had just left the Indy shelter. .

If you know where any of the 110+ animals that Jane took from IACS are, please reach out. Minnie is #111 that we’ve posted, and there are more left to post. It’s so weird how we have only tentatively found three of these animals’ whereabouts:

1. Mr. Handsome, adopted by a relative of someone who worked at the vet Jane uses - provided proof to us
2. Dorothy, adopted by Jane’s neighbor - another neighbor recognized her and we have enough proof without talking to the adopter
3. Topaz, adopted by Jane’s sister, who would not provide proof

Did Jane only adopt IACS animals to people she knew? Seems that way, since she never posted any of the IACS animals for adoption anywhere online.

Please share Minnie’s post so we can attempt to verify that she ever left Jane Hullsiek’s home and got adopted, and that she is OK. She’d be about 12 years old now. There is $200 available for proof of Minnie’s current whereabouts and answering some questions: $100 from this page’s admins and $100 from a generous supporter.

🚨Have you seen this dog???🚨

Patchez Rose’s last confirmed whereabouts were with Jane Hullsiek of Humane Society of the Dunes in Chesterton, Indiana (NWI). Patchez was taken by Jane from Indianapolis Animal Care Services and IACS Shelter Rescue Team on August 26, 2023.

Patchez Rose was “rescue only” at the Indy shelter because she was nervous with new people and had some skin issues (crusty skin and hair loss on her rump, yeasty ears). She was surrendered to IACS along with another dog, Precious, after her owner died. When Jane Hullsiek “rescued” Patchez, she also took Precious.

No updates were ever posted on the Humane Society of the Dunes social media about Patchez Rose or Precious. They were never posted for adoption anywhere. What happened to them?

Jane Hullsiek knows the answer to that question. Does anyone else? We are offering $200* for proof of Patchez Rose’s current whereabouts and answering a few questions. If you know where she is, reach out.

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

‼️$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