The Austin Animal Center is once again deluged with dogs and cats – many of them separated from their owners due to the weather.
“It happens every time. Every single time there’s a storm, we just brace ourselves,” says Sarah Hammond, foster coordinator with the Austin Animal Center. “And sure enough, this is not any different. We were pretty much already running at capacity, so a spike like that is really hurting us.”
Hammond tells KUT News that the center took in 67 animals in the last day, before it even opened. Once their doors opened at 11 a.m., another 25 animals have been taken in.
“The rain is a double-edged sword in hat it brings animals in, and it keeps adopters away,” Hammond says. “This isn’t a really fun place to be, so we see a decline in our traffic for adopters coming in.”
An adoption event is going on today, Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the PetSmart store in Sunset Valley. Pets from the animal center will be there along with animals from Austin Pets Alive, and several area rescue groups.
As for the center’s crowding, Hammond says “we may be able to break even if we can do at least 100 adoptions at that event.”
