Reclaim your pet at the Austin Animal Center

There are more than 500 animals currently being cared for at the Austin Animal Center. Volunteers, like Susan Reda, are doing everything they can to take care of them.

"We just do the best we can with making sure that they are comfortable, that they are fed, that they are walked, that they are played with, that they are enriched," Reda said.

Reda said more than 200 lost dogs and cats have come into the center in just the last week. Now the center is trying to reconnect pets with parents.

"We always hope that if we can at least get all of these dogs out on Facebook or on TV that their owners will be able to find them here," Reda said.

Dennis Weaver, of the Austin Animal Center, said recent storms have played the biggest role in why so many pets are now without a home.

"There are family functions, weather can be turbulent, and all of those crazy sounds or energies, or experiences for those animals causes them to react a certain way. animals, unlike humans, don't know how to process that and they hear a sound or feel a certain sense and they react to it and that reaction is usually to run away," Weaver said.

Weaver said the newest additions to their shelter will be held for 72 hours while they try to contact the owner. If the pet is not reclaimed, they will be eligible for open adoption.

"Life happens, so sometimes people maybe on vacation, sometimes people maybe ill or injured, so we are really trying to work with them and we'll hold onto the animals as long as we possibly can." Weaver said, "Obviously we would like the animal outside of this environment because it is a little stressful for all of those displaced animals."

And when a family and pet are reunited, it is a day that staff and volunteers treasure.

"We celebrate when that happens and when we know that a family has found their pet, that's the first thing we do. Everybody takes pictures, everybody posts it, we high five each other. We are all just one big family."

Any Travis County resident who may have a missing pet should contact the Austin Animal Shelter.

Website: Austinanimalcenter.Org
Phone number: 512-978-0500
Address: 7201 Levander Loop