Senate panel OKs constitutional amendment protecting hunting, fishing, farming

INDIANAPOLIS | A Senate committee voted 7-0 Monday to ensconce the right to hunt, fish and farm in Indiana's Constitution, despite the lack of any realistic threat to those activities or industries.

$5,000 reward offered in killing of dog

HEBRON | The Humane Society is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for killing a Hebron dog.

Rescue group seeking new homes for 60 cats living in Merrillville home

MERRILLVILLE | For about a year, the Treasured Friends animal rescue has been attempting to find new homes for dozens of cats living in a Merrillville man's home.

National Humane Society offers reward in Lowell racehorse death

CEDAR CREEK TOWNSHIP | The Humane Society of the United States is offering up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for killing a Lowell-area racehorse.

Gary man charged with operating large-scale dogfighting ring out of his house

CROWN POINT | A 32-year-old Gary man was the major player in a large-scale dogfighting ring operated out of his west side home, police said.

Charges still pending against four men arrested in Gary dogfighting ring

CROWN POINT | Charges still are pending against four men arrested during a July 7 dogfighting raid in Gary, a Lake County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

Kibble and 'chips

PORTAGE | Kim Burton drove all the way from Westville on Thursday morning to have her pooch Mac microchipped.

Gary dogfighting charges still pending; rescued dogs undergo rehab

CROWN POINT | While Lake County sheriff's police await the filing of charges in a suspected Gary dogfighting ring, the rescued dogs are undergoing rehabilitation.

Dogs seriously injured, rescuers say

GARY | Nursing back to health the 20 dogs rescued Thursday from a suspected dogfighting location won't be a simple task given an initial assessment, a Humane Society spokesman said.

Indiana officials weigh issue of coyote, fox penning

Valparaiso veterinarian Rachael Jones is among animal rights activists waiting to learn the outcome of a pending decision by state officials on the controversial issue of coyote and fox penning. Jones and more than 60 others signed a letter to the Indiana Natural Resources Commission opposin…

Animal shelters pounded by economy

Earlier this month a family came into the South Suburban Humane Society crying. Their economic situation had forced them to move from their home into an apartment. They were at the shelter to give up their 7-year-old dog. They had no choice.

EDITORIAL: Indiana should forbid hunting in pens

Shooting fish in a barrel is too easy and clearly unethical. Hunting in pens is much the same. Yet Indiana is working on rules that would sanction that practice for hunters training their dogs.