National Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week, April 9-15, is a time to recognize the many contributions of City of Austin Animal Services staff including Animal Protection Officers and animal care personnel.
 
Animal Protection Officers operate under the mission to serve to protect, not control, both human and animal life, through a variety of services aimed at educating and supporting the public, and working to keep pets and families together.
 
“The work of Animal Services happens 24 hours a day, seven days per week, 365 days a year,” said Don Bland, Chief Animal Services Officer. “Animal Protection Officers respond to day-to-day animal control calls and may also be called out at any time, including in the middle of the night, to respond to emergency situations in any location within our 900 square mile jurisdiction.”
 
Animal Protection Officers provide the following services for the City of Austin and unincorporated Travis County:

• Responding to calls about sick, injured, or orphaned animals (domestic and wild)
• Assisting other authorities, such as police and EMS, in responses to structure fires, hospitalizations, incarcerations, and other critical situations where a pet is involved
• Educating the public on the importance of pet identification with microchips and ID tags
• Investigating and enforcing animal control laws and ordinances
• Protecting the public from diseases such as rabies
• Reuniting lost pets with their families
• Educating the public about wildlife and their behavior
• Providing fencing and doghouse assistance

In addition to field services, City of Austin Animal Services also operates the Austin Animal Center. “On any given day, we have hundreds of dogs and cats onsite at the shelter,” said Bland. “Our animal care staff are essential to providing humane care to pets waiting to find new homes. Their duties can be messy and sometimes thankless, so this week helps us publicly recognize and honor their hard work.”

Austin Animal Center is currently caring for 403 dogs, 123 cats, eight rabbits, and one snake onsite at the shelter.

 
About the Animal Services Office
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.