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Programs
Adopting a pet is a serious commitment, but if you think you’re ready to add a new pet to your family, the Animal Center has great animals looking for homes.
Animal Services has numerous programs and partnerships designed to help pets in the shelter, pets in the community and pets at home. Services range from free rabies vaccination clinics to low-cost / free veterinary care, including spay or neuter services.
Animal Protection defends threatened animals from abuse or neglect. They also work closely with law enforcement to contain or help aggressive animals that threaten the community.
The City of Austin enforces ordinances related to the tethering of dogs and the selling of animals within City limits.
Coyote sightings happen throughout all of Travis County, and their continued urbanization has caused an increase in interactions with humans.
Animal Protection handles dangerous and vicious dogs in Travis County. Call 9-1-1 if a dog seems dangerous and is threatening.
Foster care takes vulnerable and at-risk pets out of the shelter and places them into caring homes, allowing them time to grow and become healthy so they can be adopted into a forever home.
Animal Protection handles stray animals that need to be picked up and/or are injured.
Lost a pet?
Check the Center's Stray Map, which updates every hour with cats and dogs that have been in our care for less than a week. If for some reason the map is not displaying any data, please check through the resources below.
The Austin Animal Center is actively working on maintaining its status of being a No-Kill City and continues to work on the No-Kill implementation plan, approved in March of 2010 by the Austin City Council.
Austin Animal Center's outreach program provides humane education and prevention based intervention through partnership building, community events, classes and presentations.
The goals of the outreach program are to reduce shelter intake from targeted zip codes, promote responsible, humane treatment of animals, and increase public safety through education and community resource promotion.
The Austin Animal Center works closely with a number of Placement Partner organizations in order to save homeless pets. The Animal Center transfers about 34% of the animals that come in to the shelter to our partners.
Here is a list of approved placement partners that currently work with the Animal Center.
The City of Austin Animal Services Office offers free and low cost spay/neuter surgery for dogs and cats, free microchip, free Rabies vaccination and free pain medication post surgery.
Contact us to see if your area qualifies for these free or low cost services.
For English, call (512) 978-0504 or email Michelle.Dosson@austintexas.gov.
For Spanish, call (512) 978-0505 or email Luis.Herrera@austintexas.gov.
Animal Services has numerous programs and partnerships designed to help pets in the shelter, in the community and at home.
We strive to save 90% of animals that enter the shelter. This is challenging, since all animals are accepted regardless of age, health, species, breed or behavior. Hundreds of community animals may need shelter more than one already in a home.
Many opportunities exist for citizens to help Austin Animal Center. Depending on your interest, skill set, availability and reason for wanting to help, there is a place for you – whether at AAC, at home, in the community, or with one of our Partner Agencies.
The Austin population has surpassed 840,000 and continues to grow every day. With this continued influx of people, there’s expanding needs for more energy, water, food and space to live. This urban expansion results in fewer natural refuges for animal species. This loss of habitat is the number one reason wildlife is moving into the urban landscape.
Wildlife in the Central Texas area includes coyotes, raccoons, possums, skunks and deer.
City Data
Austin Notes