Austin Steps Up for Its Critters

Austin Pets Alive! kicked some major butt in the pet adoption department in recent weeks. The Home for the Holidays promotion – three separate adoption events over 25 days – found homes for 691 pets, almost evenly split between cats and dogs.

Twenty-two of the critters had been with the rescue outfit for more than 300 days. These include Elle, who’d been in the shelter for 1,400 days; Blaine (882 days); Travis Barker (361 days); and Breeze (673 days). The APA’s Luis Sanchez thanked the community for its support and for opening their hearts to the creatures that need them.

“Oftentimes, there's a barrier where people assume that there aren’t enough homes for the pets in shelters, especially in Austin,” Sanchez said. “They think a household has to have no other pets, no small children, that it needs a yard, or experience with behaviorally complex dogs. But there are homes and families out there for these dogs and cats. It just takes determination, compassion, and resilience to not give up on these lives.”

Fosters played a key role in APA’s adoption success, accounting for 59% of cats who left the shelter and 55% of dogs. Sanchez said dogs, in particular, benefit from exiting the stressful shelter environment, allowing them to decompress and be their true selves.

Sanchez also pointed out that adopters chose to love some of the shelter’s most vulnerable pets. Blaine, a dog with megaesophagus, finally went home after 882 days in care. Honey Berry, a paralyzed pup who spent two months at the shelter, probably after being hit by a car, found adopters who had searched for months for a dog that fit their family’s needs. When they met Honey, Sanchez said, “it just clicked.”

These kinds of adoptions are part of APA’s mission to reshape the narrative that pets with specific needs, long stays, or behavioral challenges are unadoptable, Sanchez said. “We have built our reputation on being the ‘yes’ in a world of ‘no.’ APA! has always known the demand for pets exceeds the supply. There are enough homes. The challenge isn’t overpopulation – it’s overcoming the barriers keeping shelter pets from those homes.

“So shelter pets aren’t just an option – they are the best option.”