Friday night update on shelter assistance and Bastrop search and rescue

Sep 10, 2011

[caption id="attachment_15739" align="alignright" width="218" caption="Rescued cat from Bastrop"][/caption]Thanks to the Bastrop sheriff and animal control, we were able to get in past the evacuation lines in Bastrop today to check on pets for their owners.

The work was slow and we are disappointed that we didn't finish our list, but are optimistic that some more neighborhoods in Bastrop may be re-opened to the public tomorrow. We'll be working with the Bastrop sheriff to figure out where we can help the most. We have already called everyone tonight whose houses we were able to check today.

Thanks to Friends for Life for helping again today treat the injured animals that were found in Bastrop. Check out the photos of their work today.

There were sad times and there were happy times. We had to call someone who asked us to check her house because she left her pets inside and let her know that her entire house was gone and we didn't see her pets. We later learned that her dogs had been found! If you've lost your pets in the Bastrop fire, please continue to check Bastrop Animal Control and Austin Humane Society.

[caption id="attachment_15738" align="alignright" width="218" caption="Puppies pulled from local shelter available for adoption"][/caption]We are continuing to pull pets from all of the area shelters to make room for the strays coming in from the fires. This week, we have pulled in 258 pets! To be clear, even though we are doing the search-and-rescue work, we are sending all strays to Bastrop and AHS. The only pets we're pulling into our program are ones who are not lost from the fires. This allows the shelters to have room for the strays coming in so their people can find them.

We still need the community's help! With so many pets coming in, we need to keep our adoptions up. Our adoption fees tomorrow (Saturday) will be half-price. Now is a great time to get your new family member!