Emergency donations needed for crisis

Jul 14, 2012

Austin Pets Alive! needs emergency donations and adopters to help Austin Animal Center maintain city's no kill status during weather and fireworks-related intake crisis

Recent thunderstorms and July 4th fireworks have caused hundreds of extra dogs and cats to flood into Austin Animal Center; Austin Pets Alive! needs the public's help to save them.

AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 14, 2012) – Yesterday, Rose, a chihuahua with a fractured pelvis had to be euthanized at Austin Animal Center due to weather and July 4th-caused overcrowding even though Austin Pets Alive! was in the process of raising donations to save her. Had Austin Pets Alive! already had the funds on hand, Rose would still be alive today and on her way into a loving home.

To be able to save pets like Rose during this crisis, Austin Pets Alive! is asking the community to donate to pay for emergency medical care, and to adopt immediately to help free up much-needed space. The need is greatest now because during the summer months, shelter intake spikes but donations are often at their lowest of the year.

“We need the Austin community to rally together to help us increase our life-saving efforts as emergency situations like this occur. Without APA partnering with Austin Animal Center to save many of these animals during the intake crises, it is a sad fact that many will not make it out of the shelter alive, which could cost Austin its much-admired no-kill status,” said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, executive director of Austin Pets Alive! “Every dollar donated and every animal adopted today helps us save more lives during this time of crisis.”

Donations can be made online at http://www.austinpetsalive.org/donate-now. Interested adopters should visit APA’s website to learn more about available dogs and cats. For more information about Austin Pets Alive!, visit www.austinpetsalive.org.

About Austin Pets Alive!

Austin Pets Alive! is a nonprofit organization of volunteers dedicated to promoting and providing the resources, education and programs needed to eliminate the killing of companion animals. The organization's purpose is two-fold: to provide the services needed to save the lives of the thousands of pets killed every year at city shelters and to prevent them from getting there in the first place. Austin Pets Alive! was voted reader's choice as 'Best Nonprofit' in the Austin Chronicle's 2011 'Best of Austin' list.

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