Staff and volunteers are busy preparing for Clear the Shelters, Austin Animal Center’s biggest adoption event of the year, held this Saturday August 26 from 11 am to 7 pm.
 
“Clear the Shelters is a huge opportunity for our shelter animals,” said Kelsey Cler, marketing and communication manager for Austin Animal Center (AAC). “This year in particular we’re relying on the event to be successful in order to help with our distemper outbreak.”
 
AAC has seen a rapid increase in cases of distemper both in the community and in the shelter. Distemper is a highly contagious viral disease affecting dogs, and it can be fatal. The vaccine against distemper is very effective.
 
“We have hundreds of healthy dogs with immunity against distemper that have been overlooked by adopters for one reason or another,” said Cler. "We're all hoping that this is their time to shine and find their new homes. If you've been thinking about adopting, consider this your sign! You will literally be a lifesaver."
 
All adoption fees will be waived for the event. Dozens of staff and volunteers will be onsite to help adopters find the right match, and foster coordinators will be available to process walk-in foster applications. Before the shelter's doors open at 11 am, foster dogs will be on the front lawn searching for homes starting at 10 am. 
 
Austin Animal Center is the municipal shelter for the City of Austin and unincorporated Travis County. The Center will be open from 11 am to 7 pm on Saturday for the fee-waived event. Adoptable pets can be previewed online at austinanimalcenter.org.
 
Clear The Shelters is an annual, nationwide pet adoption and shelter donation campaign supported by local NBC and Telemundo affiliates. Since 2015, NBC’s Clear The Shelters national pet adoption campaign has resulted in more than a half-million pets finding new homes.

Learn more about the event