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Tag Archives: Austin Animal Shelter
Austin Animal Center faces questions about monthly update
Alongside shelters nationwide, the Austin Animal Center has been struggling with staffing shortages and soaring populations of shelter animals – a situation that was evident in the shelter’s monthly update to the Animal Advisory Commission. In April, a total of 1,067…
Austin • By Willow Higgins • May 12, 2022
Animal center struggles to quell public concern over out-of-state transfers
Animal Advisory commissioners continue to question the shelter’s transfer of animals to partner shelters, but thus far are still waiting for answers. The conversation began last month, when commissioners issued a resolution to more closely monitor out-of-county and out-of-state transport…
Austin • By Kali Bramble • Mar 22, 2022
Shorthanded shelter temporarily shuts down on Sundays
The Austin Animal Center, which provides shelter for more than 16,000 animals each year, announced this week that it will close its doors to the public on Sundays, beginning Jan. 23. Historically, the shelter has been open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily,…
City Hall • By Willow Higgins • Jan 14, 2022
Austin Pets Alive! poised to stay at Town Lake site
City Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday that appears to give Austin Pets Alive! greater leverage in negotiating a new license agreement with the city to replace the existing deal that expires Nov. 23. The two sides had reached an…
Austin • By Amy Smith • Nov 5, 2021
APD Animal Cruelty Unit down to one detective
The Animal Advisory Commission may be philosophically divided on some issues, but commissioners were united Monday in calling for the restoration of recent staffing cuts made to the Austin Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Unit. Responding to queries from the Austin…
Police • By Amy Smith • Aug 12, 2021
Animal commission asks Council to make changes at city-run shelter
The Animal Advisory Commission voted Monday to ask City Council to immediately implement a set of recommendations to alleviate logjams at the Austin Animal Center in an attempt to ward off the specter of animals being euthanized as a management…
Austin • By Amy Smith • Aug 11, 2021
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Animal Advisory Commission looks to reform operations at city shelter
At last week’s meeting of the Animal Advisory Commission, commissioners voted to form a working group aimed at addressing the ongoing capacity crisis at the Austin Animal Center. The move came after Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland sent a…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • Jul 22, 2021
Austin Animal Center contemplates 'notifications for possible euthanasia'
In a memo last month, Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland updated City Council and Mayor Steve Adler about the ongoing capacity issues at the Austin Animal Center. The memo included a few lines that made animal lovers around the…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • Jul 16, 2021
Austin Animal Center continues to struggle with capacity
Earlier this week at the Animal Advisory Commission’s monthly meeting, commissioners discussed the reopening process of the Austin Animal Center as the risk of coronavirus continues to decline locally. In recent months, the shelter has been running out of kennel space for…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • Jun 18, 2021
Austin Pets Alive! provides neonatal care for kittens in kitten season
It’s kitten season, the time of year when the population of kittens explodes in communities across the country. Kitten season begins in the spring and peaks during the summer, lasting until the fall months. During this period, thousands of kittens are…
Austin • By Sumaiya Malik, Reporting Texas • Apr 28, 2021
Shelter logged record-setting number of animal distress calls during 'snowmageddon'
The weeklong winter “snowmageddon” that stretched from February 16 to 21 also affected the city’s ability to respond to animal distress calls. Pounding sleet, icy roads and temperatures as low as 10 degrees in Austin made the roads dangerous for…
Austin • By Sumaiya Malik, Reporting Texas • Mar 18, 2021
Austin Animal Center’s December report looks bright
The Animal Advisory Commission convened on Jan. 11 to discuss, among other things, the accomplishments of the Austin Animal Center at the end of 2020. One recent highlight was the implementation of a new chatbot designed to field questions residents may…