New Year's brings more lost and scared animals to local shelters

Fireworks across Austin helped ring in the New Year, but they also brought in a lot of scared animals into the local animal shelter.

Jordache Johnson was at the Austin Animal Center on Saturday to drop off a lost dog, “I found this little bad boy in my driveway on New Year’s Eve, said he wanted to come party with us.” He said he would’ve kept the little pooch, but he already has two dogs, “I have a 70 pound dog, and a 65 pound dog, I say this one is a little to Kim Kardashian for my house,” he said.

Fireworks, rowdy parties, and loud music scare animals and they run away and hide. They get even more scared when they end up at the shelter. ”It's very frightening. A shelter is a scary place for an animal that's used to living in a home and the vast majority of pets coming in right now. We expect to get upwards of a 100 to 200 total over the next several days,” said Deputy Chief Animal Services Officer Kristen Auerbach.

Of the dozens taken in on New Year’s, Auerbach said most have owners, but they did take in four puppies believed to be abandoned over the holiday. “The person that brought them in, this is not the first time he's found dogs there, and he believes somebody is possibly leaving dogs on this road,” Auerbach said.

Auerbach said if you have lost your pet, it's important to act fast, “Pets stay on a three day stay hold, so it's important to come look for your pets as soon as you know it's missing. There’s no substitute for actually coming to the center to look for your pet but you should also be looking online.” She also said to be persistent. “They shouldn't give up. It can take anywhere from months to even years to find stray animals and most people who don’t give up, find their pet eventually.”

If the animals end up being strays, Austin Animal Center is a no kill shelter that works to find them loving homes. -

Auerbach said it is important to get your pet microchipped or have a collar with your information, so if they do get lost, they are easily identified.

For more information check out the City of Austin's website.