Former Staffers Push For Removal Of IACS Interim Director
INDIANAPOLIS — The biggest animal shelter in Indianapolis appears to be facing a leadership crisis as many former volunteers are coming forward with many claims.
Kelly Diamond is the interim director of Indianapolis Animal Care Services and is facing calls for her removal from many current and former volunteers. She took over on an interim basis in 2023.
Lauren Wyatt is the shelter’s former volunteer coordinator and she tells WISH-TV that Diamond is the reason IACS has been struggling of late, claiming that animals in their care are experiencing hygiene issues and lack of adequate care.
She said many of the 250 dogs they look after will spend at least 23.5 hours a day indoors and inside a crate.
“If (animals) only get to go out once a day, there’s a lot more waste in their kennel, a lot more hygiene issues,” Wyatt said. “They could be covered in their own waste. Also, when dogs are stressed, they’ll pace in their kennel back and forth, bounce off the walls, and it can actually cause like sore bleeding paws.”
Wyatt said volunteers make IACS “functional” and said at one point in the last year the shelter had a 100-percent volunteer turnover rate. She said this was because Diamond perpetuated an environment in which volunteers felt unappreciated and compelled to quit.
“They said that staff were ignoring concerns, making changes without communicating, pushing staff out, invalidating people’s feelings, making staff feel disposable, top-down leadership … my way or the highway attitude with staff, making volunteers feel less than not appreciated, maybe even not wanted to be there,” Wyatt said.
Diamond is being considered by the Indianapolis City-County Council to take up the job as director of IACS permanently. The council was supposed to vote to confirm her earlier this month, but that proposal was instead sent back to a committee for further discussion. The committee will hold another vote on Wednesday and allow for public comment.
In a January council meeting, Diamond claimed workplace culture had improved in recent months, but many disagree.
