APA! Hurricane Harvey Evacuations

Aug 28, 2017

To every person, organization and business that has stepped up during this time of incredible crisis: thank you. We’re still in the thick of things here at Austin Pets Alive!, but lifesaving on this scale truly would not have been possible without each of you. You have saved lives.

Because of unmatched community support, the impact of this initiative has allowed:

• Over 2,000 animals to be rescued by Austin Pets Alive!.
• APA! to open two temporary shelters – one in Austin and one Houston – to help manage the scale of this effort.
• Over 6,000 volunteer hours at our Austin locations as well as our Katy/Houston operational centers.
• The number of dogs in foster to have tripled; the number of cats in foster to have doubled.
• Shelters in Houston and along the Texas coast to have help evacuating their pets to safety – and receive supplies from APA! to help them get back on their feet. APA! has acted as a supply hub for shelters in need, helping them get the necessary supplies through this crisis. If your shelter has been affected by Harvey and needs help, please email [email protected].

So again: thank you. It is because of your support that so many animals have been given the chance to live. Please see below for updates from Austin, from the field in Houston, and more!

We cannot express our gratitude for the continued support from the Austin Pets Alive! community – both new and old. We would not be able to save these lives – and more to come – without your help. We look forward to providing more updates and sharing happy tails from our #APAHarvey animals.

Thank you,
– The APA! Team

AUSTIN UPDATE

Many of you already know this but because of the incredible volume of new animals arriving at APA!, we had to secure a temporary shelter on Burnet Rd. Around 1,000 rescued animals have come through those doors! Staff members and volunteers have been at the shelter ’round the clock to provide care for these animals – and we even had No Kill shelter partners from around the country reach out with the offer of transporting some of these cats and dogs to other safe havens.

While we continue our work to transition all of the animals out of the temporary shelter, we also have a full shelter at our main Town Lake location, as well as more pets in foster than at any other moment in APA! history. While we normally have around 200 dogs and 200 cats in foster at any given time, we now have over 800 dogs in foster and over 600 cats – not including our Bottle Baby kittens. This is something that the Austin community should feel truly proud of, as this was made possible because of people who stepped up to foster in a time of deep need. And now, we can focus on adoptions!

Hours | 11:30a-7p daily

Volunteer Opportunities | Please visit our volunteer page to learn more about becoming a registered APA! volunteer.

HOUSTON UPDATE

At the end of last week, our team on the ground in Katy officially moved from the Katy Mills Mall parking lot to an indoor facility located at 8620 Stella Link Road in Houston. Thanks to this new location, we are continuing to take in all animals that need help but are no longer transporting them up to our Austin location – the pets who come to us at Stella Link are being cared for onsite. We will continue to run operations here until it is no longer needed, so stay tuned for more updates!

Houston Pets Alive! is also supporting the efforts at this location, as well as running foster and adoption programs – so while we will not be conducting adoptions out of Stella Link, please check into the HPA! site if you’re in Houston and looking to add a furry family member!

We are also continuing to partner with Best Friends Animal Society, who is running the temporary shelter for potentially owned (stray/lost) pets at the NRG Arena. Any potentially owned animals we receive at Stella Link – microchipped or not – are being transported to Best Friends in Houston.

Hours | 7a-9p for volunteers, 9a-6p for intake + outtake

Volunteer Opportunities | transportations, dog walking, cat/dog care and cage cleaning

Please note: we are also in need of a Dog Care Manager for our Houston operations. If you are an experienced dog handler and interested in this position, please email [email protected] with the subject line “Houston Dog Care Manager.”

LOOKING FOR A LOST PET?

As a reminder, APA! is not adopting out potentially owned pets. The only animals we are helping reach adoption are those who are truly orphaned and deserve to find their forever homes: pets who originally came to us from shelters or pets who were confirmed to be owner-surrendered.

If you are looking for a pet displaced by Hurricane Harvey, please check the Best Friends Animal Society database or try searching Petco Love Lost, which uses facial recognition technology. We will continue to share the best resources available for anyone still searching for their pet and our hearts go out to you!

STILL WANT TO HELP?

• Adopt. Have you been ready to add a furry member to your family? With more animals than ever in our care, this is the perfect time to offer a forever home to a pet in need. Check our available cats or available dogs pages, which are updated in real time. Please note: We only adopt animals who are not spayed/neutered yet out locally so that we can follow up on spay and neuter treatments.
• Volunteer. In either Houston or Austin, we have opportunities for you! Please check the location updates above for more info.
• Stay connected. We have changing needs and updates, and this situation will outlive the initial triage that we had to conduct in Houston. Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter list (at the bottom of the page) to receive exciting new information and follow us on social media for the most recent updates!
• Share your story.

PLEASE NOTE: At this time we no longer have the capacity to accept in-kind donations. Due to the absolutely amazing outpouring of support from our community we have run out of room to store in-kind donations. We are continuing to use them to care for the 2,000+ animals we have rescued and we are sending them down to the Houston-area and share with those most in need. Please check back at a later date for an updated list of needs!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, Austin Pets Alive! is coordinating with shelters who have been affected by the storm to send supplies that they need to get back on their feet. The outpouring of donated crates, beds, treats, and food that we have received will be shared with those who need to rebuild after this disaster. At Austin Pets Alive! one of our main goals is to help people help pets and we are thrilled to be able to do so now.

*Thanks to all the amazing support we have already received our team is working fast and furious to process donations. We apologize for the slight delay in sharing our individual thanks and charitable receipts, but we assure you that they are coming. Thank you!