Austin, Texas – The Austin Animal Center has impacted critical capacity and has once again stopped taking in animals.
Between June 24-26, the Austin Animal Center took in 149 dogs and cats and gave up only 124. It’s an ongoing pattern the shelter has seen regularly. Now the shelter says they have no other option but close intake for now.
“I share the frustration, I’m a public servant and at times when I can’t provide our public services, but at the same time, it becomes a limited space issue,” said Austin Animal Services Deputy Chief Jason Garza.
Another animal shelter in the area, Austin Pets Alive!, works in conjunction with the Austin Animal Center. APA! Also looking at capacity issues.
CEO and President of APA! told FOX 7 that they contract with AAC to take in a certain number of animals when the shelter runs out of space.
“We’ve already been crossed by some animals. It’s kind of scary right now,” said APA CEO and President Ellen Jefferson.
The animal shelter program hopes to help capacity
An Austin animal shelter has launched a new program they hope will help shelter capacity. This follows an ordinance change approved by the City Council last month.
Promotion and adoption are needed now more than ever, especially since it’s the Fourth of July holiday when intake typically peaks.
“We’re lighting beacons so people can come and help us and get us into that stable, managed, human capacity for care,” Garza said.
Shelter officials say it’s best to take matters into your own hands because intake is closed to emergencies only. If you find a lost animal, your options include:
- Call 311 and ask for an animal detection officer.
- Knock on doors to find the animal’s owner. Officials say the dogs are usually found within blocks of their homes.
- Post the animal on social media
- Get the pet’s microchip scanned
More resources can be found here:
While shelters are working to deal with intake issues, APA! Hopefully the city will invest more in animal services this budget season.
“We work in an animal shelter system that is very underfunded, 30% of all 311 calls are animal related and the number one call is a lost dog and only 0.5% of the city’s budget goes to animal services. So you have one call out of everyone. .three callers are concerned about animals and then 1/100 of the budget will actually address the needs of the community,” Jefferson said.
Not only do people need to help with adoption or fostering, she says, they’re also needed for animals to step up and speak up.
“People can go to budget hearings and speak up for animals. We need community support to address this and get to a better place,” Jefferson said.