AUSTIN, TX - Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) and Austin Animal Center (AAC) announced a new collaboration to get dogs at AAC into foster homes. The partnership will see APA! care for up to 30 medium/large dogs at a time to help with space, in addition to the 120-250 animals APA! takes in from AAC each month. 
 
“We understand the need for immediate solutions to Austin Animals Center’s overcrowding challenges,” says Dr. Ellen Jefferson, President and CEO of Austin Pets Alive!. “We have been actively working with AAC to help reduce the number of dogs housed in crates and ensure the animals get the lifesaving care they need. This is a stretch for APA! on top of the animals we are already serving who are at extreme risk of euthanasia. We need the community’s support to find foster homes for these new dogs so they can stay out of crates.”

APA! will use its foster-centric approach to help provide temporary homes for the dogs until they get adopted. Foster homes provide a calm and cool environment for the dogs to de-stress and wait for their adoptive families. APA! will also provide all necessary booster vaccines, heartworm treatment, flea treatment, or deworming for the dogs, while AAC will provide all initial medical care, including spay/neuter.  

“We are excited for this new facet of our long- standing partnership with Austin Pets Alive!,” said AAC’s Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland. “Austin’s animals are struggling, and we are grateful for APA! pivoting to help an additional number of Austin dogs on top of the medical animals they pull each month. Compensating APA! for assisting us with these dogs’ housing and care will allow us to get them out of wire crates and still keep them readily available for adoption while recognizing the additional strain on APA!’s system.”

APA! and AAC are calling on the community to take in the pups. To foster or adopt an AAC dog in APA!’s care, you can visit the websites of Austin Pets Alive! (www.austinpetsalive.org) or Austin Animal Center (www.austinanimalcenter.org).  You can also email APA! at matchmaker@austinpetsalive.org to get matched with a dog in need.

Austin Animal Center is waiving adoption fees indefinitely for all animals. AAC is open for walk-in adoptions from 11 am to 7 pm Friday through Tuesday, and from 3 to 7 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7201 Levander Loop Bldg. A, Austin, TX 78702.

Austin Pets Alive! is waiving adoption fees for on-site animals in its downtown location through July 16. Spay/neuter deposits still apply. APA! is open daily from 12 pm to 6 pm at 1156 W Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78703, and Tarrytown Location at 3118 Windsor Rd, Austin, TX 78703.

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About Austin Pets Alive!
Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is a nonprofit animal shelter and rescue organization pioneering comprehensive, innovative programs designed to save the most at-risk homeless companion animals and educate others to do the same through its American Pets Alive! nationwide education and outreach division. A leader in No Kill sheltering in America’s largest No Kill city, APA! helps more than 10,000 dogs and cats annually in Central Texas and beyond get a chance at the life they deserve. To learn more about APA!, visit austinpetsalive.org.

About Austin Animal Center
The City of Austin Animal Services Office operates the Austin Animal Center and is the municipal shelter for the City of Austin and unincorporated Travis County. Austin Animal Center provides shelter to more than 11,000 animals annually and safely places more than 95% of all pets. Our goal is to keep pets with their families and in their communities, provide a safe place for homeless animals, promote responsible pet ownership, and preserve the human-animal bond. Learn more at austinanimalcenter.org.

Contact:
Luis Sanchez
Director, Public Relations and Communications
pr@austinpetsalive.org
(c) 541.326.1779

Kelsey Cler
Marketing & Communication Manager
kelsey.cler@austintexas.gov
512.978.0586