Animal shelters across the Austin area are teaming up to hold a “name your price” adoption special this weekend. Shelters hope to rehome 250 animals before the Fourth of July, when shelter employees say a record number of pets turn up missing each year.
Shelter staff say summer is already a tough time for them. It’s difficult to keep kennels cool during triple-digit heat. Unexpected storms cause an uptick in pets escaping home and winding up at shelters. People are also more likely to move or take long trips over the summer, which means more requests to surrender pets. That's when people decide they can no longer take care of their animals and hand them over to a shelter.
Sarah Hammel, director of communications at Austin Humane Society, said the shelter has a four-to-six-week waitlist for dog surrenders because it's already overcrowded. The Austin Animal Center has been at “critical capacity” for over a month, program manager Elizabeth Ferrer said. The center has over 100 dogs more than it should.
But the peak for Austin area shelters isn't here yet.
“It’s just busy all the time," Hammel said. "There’s always a need. And then during Fourth of July into July Fifth, it’s the number one day where dogs get lost, get out, run stray, get picked up — because of fireworks.”
Fireworks also present a challenge for dogs already inside kennels. Austin Pets Alive’s shelter is located near the city’s firework show. Even if only a few dogs are scared of the loud noises, their reaction can scare other pets in the shelter, Suzie Chase, community affairs leader for Austin Pets Alive, said.
“If they can be in a home, that’s better for all of the animals,” she said.
Chase said she hopes the “name your price” adoption event on Saturday and Sunday will help shelters make room for the inevitable surge of lost dogs over the holiday weekend. The eight participating shelters and rescues have a collective goal to find homes for 250 pets.
There are thousands of pets of all ages, sizes and breeds available for adoption across the city. But Hammel said it’s often the high-energy, large-breed dogs that don’t get picked.
“So if you’re a hiker, if you’re a runner, if you’re training for a half marathon, come out to a shelter this weekend and adopt yourself a running buddy,” she said.
Anyone interested in adopting a pet can choose how much they pay for the adoption fee during the special this weekend. If you need financial assistance after adopting an animal, Austin Animal Center offers free microchips and spay and neuter clinics for residents in Austin and the unincorporated areas of Travis County.
Here’s a list of participating organizations:
- Austin Animal Center
- Austin Pets Alive!
- Austin Humane Society
- Pflugerville Animal Shelter
- Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter
- Jack Jack’s Pack
- Love-A-Bull
- TRAPRS
