Title: Creature Feature benefiting HSWC Heartworm Fund Location: Studio2Gallery 1700 S Lamar ste 318 Link out: Click here Description: Artists\’ Reception and juried exhibit and fundraiser for the Willilamson County Animal Shelter Heartworm Fund. They are in need of heartworm medications and also have a wish list of items to be donated:
* Pet toys that are safe and washable(KongToys, NylaBones)
* Tennis balls
* Cat Food and treats
* Cat litter
* Towels and blankets
* Bath mats
* Plastic soda and water bottles
* Cat beds
* Newspaper
* Paper bags
Currently the shelter also has a couple of special needs:
Wire crates, all sizes
Storage shed
Monetary donations are always welcome, specifically for our medical fund and for our Heartworm treatment fund, and for an Adoption Trailer which would allow us to transport our shelter animals to off-site locations for adoption. Start Time: 18:30 Date: 2009-06-20 End Time: 21:30
Title: Spay Austin Meeting Location: Julia’’s house Description: The Spay Austin Coalition has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 6:30 pm. The meeting will take place at Julia’s home. Please RSVP to president at spayaustin dot com for the address if you plan to attend.
When: Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Where: Julia’s house
What: Feral trapper updates, strategic planning for new fiscal year goals, and input from coalition groups
Bring: yourself and optionally a vegan or vegetarian snack and/or wine and soft drinks to share
So, you’ve heard it’s better for your pet to have a litter before bring spayed or neutered. Or, maybe you want your children to experience the miracle of life close up, so you allow your cat or dog to have just one litter. You don’t understand what all the fuss is about. You know everyone who will take one of your kittens or puppies will give them a good home. All those other irresponsible pet owners are the problem, not you.
The truth is once you allow your pet to reproduce you are the problem. The “one litter” myth was dispelled long ago. According to the American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA):
The population of dogs and cats in the United States currently exceeds the capacity of our society to care and provide homes for them as companion animals. As a result, millions do not have homes and are euthanatized annually by animal control agencies, humane organizations, and veterinarians in private practice. Dogs and cats that are not adopted can become victims of trauma, starvation, or disease. The AVMA concludes that dog and cat population control is a primary welfare concern of our society.
Spaying and neutering is the solution. Every dog, cat and rabbit at the Town Lake Animal Center is the result of someone who believed it was important to have “just one litter”, wanted their children to experience the miracle of birth, didn’t realize how expensive it is to properly care for a pet with regular vet visits and sterilization, or in a much smaller group, just didn’t care. Every new pet owner accepts the initial responsibility of caring for the animal, but sometimes things happen. People lose jobs, get pregnant, move, the list of reasons not to continue to accept that responsibility goes on and on.
So, while you allow your pet to have just one litter, you ultimately have no control over the offspring after they leave your possession. It is more likely than not that there are animals at the TLAC that are a direct result of your choice to have “just one litter”. Since there is not enough room for all the animals, the city budget provides a solution: euthanasia. Now, you have not only not accepted responsibility for your pet, the city has appropriated everyone’s tax dollars to pay for your actions. They tell you right on their website:
The shelter takes full responsibility for animals that are brought in. Animals brought in to the shelter may eventually be:
* Reclaimed by their owner (strays are held a minimum of 3 days)
* Adopted to a new family
* Transferred to one of our Partner Organizations, or
* Humanely euthanized
The decisions made about what will happen with a specific animal depend upon the information we have about the animal, the health and behavior of the animal, and the space available at the shelter at that time.
More than 12,000 animals are euthanized every year in Austin. If you are not spaying and/or neutering your pets you are the problem. There will always be professional breeders supplying kittens and puppies to the public. Some are good and some are not. We don’t need to worry about running out of animals, and your contribution to the effort is unwarranted and unnecessary. Now if we could only get those breeders licensed and inspected by the state like every other profession, but that’s another issue.
Now that you understand the consequences of your actions, we hope you will be a part of the solution by spaying and neutering your pets. And, to help you explain the miracle of life to your children, we have a short video you can share:
aspca AND AUSTIN ANIMAL WELFARE LEADERS SUPPORT EMANCIPET IN Face of Program Budget Cuts by City
Reduced funding for Austin’s free sterilization and vaccination program will lead to increased animal intakes, increased risk to human health and safety, increased euthanasia
Austin, TX (June 12, 2009): The City of Austin is facing a budget shortfall, and difficult decisions must be made about which services are most valuable to the Austin community. There are several proposed budget cuts for animal services, but the one of most concern to Austin’s animal welfare leaders – including the ASPCA, Emancipet, Animal Trustees of Austin, and Austin Humane Society – is the proposed cuts to the City’s free sterilization and vaccination program offered through Emancipet.
“We are reaching out to the City Council and City Manager to review the importance and effectiveness of the City’s free sterilization and vaccination program,” said Karen Medicus, Senior Director, ASPCA Mission: Orange. “We want to be sure they have the statistics showing the success of our work over the past several years, and how reduced funding for Austin’s free sterilization and vaccination program will surely lead to increased animal intakes and euthanasia, and increased risk to human health and safety.”
What is Emancipet’s free sterilization program?
Emancipet’s free sterilization program is a highly successful partnership with the City that provides 4,000 free pet sterilizations (spay/neuter) and more than 3,500 free rabies vaccinations each year, primarily to pets living in low-income neighborhoods.
What is the City’s proposed budget cut?
This program is currently funded by the City at $195,000 per year. There are two proposals for reducing the city outlay for this important spay/neuter program. One calls for a reduction of 50% of the program funding out of the City’s general fund, and funding that portion instead through unsolicited – and unguaranteed – citizen donations to the City’s donation fund (currently used to treat sick and injured animals and provide additional sterilization services). The second proposal will cut the entire $195,000 from the general fund budget, wiping out support for the free sterilization and vaccination program completely, and requiring Emancipet to rely solely on the City’s donation fund. Without guaranteed funding from the City, it is estimated that Austin could see a reduction of 2,000 fewer free surgeries.
How will this affect Austin citizens and pets?
Without adequate funding for spay/neuter and vaccination services, there will be more stray animals, causing a higher intake at Austin shelters, and more animals will be euthanized due to lack of space. In addition we will see increased risk and jeopardy to human health and safety, particularly in the targeted neighborhoods Emancipet serves (high intake and low income). Because the free sterilization program has proven so effective, it is critical that it remain fully funded and a core part of the City’s general fund. Although these proposals are intended to save money, in reality they could cost the city more in sheltering costs and animal lives lost.
Reducing the funding for spay/neuter means more homeless animals will die.
Austin has made tremendous progress in reducing intake, and subsequently euthanasia rates, in the past several years, due in large part to prevention programs such as these. If more animals enter the shelter next year, the number of animals killed will also increase.
Also, the City shelter has a limited capacity for the number of animals it can shelter. If cuts are made to this program, intake will quickly exceed the capacity of the shelter, leading to higher euthanasia rates and a public outcry. The domino effect will only continue. If this program displaces what is currently funded through the donation fund – such as treating sick and injured animals – something as simple as a broken leg could easily become a death sentence for otherwise adoptable dogs and cats in the shelter.
Reducing the funding for spay/neuter puts human health and safety at risk.
Spayed and neutered dogs present a significantly lower risk of attack. The vast majority of dog bites are from unneutered males, and most victims are small children. Further, the budget reductions also include the elimination of free rabies vaccinations, and untreated animals are more likely to transmit the deadly rabies virus if they bite humans. Eliminating the only source of accessible pet sterilization and vaccination will put Austin’s poorest children and families at risk of dog bites, attacks, and needlessly contracting dangerous diseases transmitted by unhealthy animals.
Reducing the funding for spay/neuter could actually cost more money than it saves.
A 2005 LBJ School of Public Affairs study of five years of data conclusively determined that the free sterilization program has dramatically reduced the intake of both dogs and cats at the shelter.To put it in perspective, one surgery costs about $33, while the average cost to shelter one animal is $141.95. If shelter intake increases by just 683 animals (a low estimate), the cost of housing those additional animals would be equal to the savings gained by reducing the program funding. In short, the reduction would mean zero savings, and most likely a higher cost on all fronts. Again, the unfortunate alternative would be the need to euthanize many of these animals, since the shelter budget may not accommodate the additional increase in intake.
The other proposed budget cuts for animal welfare services in Austin include eliminating City funding for the free microchip identification program (currently $50,000) and emergency medical care for feral cats at the time of sterilization (currently $30,000). Again, the cost for these programs would need to come from unsolicited citizen donations to the City of Austin’s donation fund. “While the animal welfare leaders would certainly like to continue these important and successful services,” said Medicus, “loss of funding for these programs is not as critical as the spay/neuter and vaccination program.”
“To take action and help fight these devastating budget cuts, we are asking Austin animal lovers to please visit www.emancipet.org,” said Amy Mills, Executive Director of Emancipet. “We urge Austinites to contact the City Manager and City Council and voice their opposition, sign our online petition, or join our Facebook group. In addition, we look forward to our supporters attending one of the two upcoming Town Hall meetings on the proposed budget cuts.”
The Town Hall meetings are scheduled as follows:
Monday, June 15, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.Gus Garcia Rec Center, 1201 E. Rundberg Lane
Tuesday, June 16, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.Toney Berger Center, 3200 Jones Road
About Emancipet: Emancipet provides services and advocacy that effectively and humanely reduce the homeless pet population in our community. We advocate for and provide free and low-cost spay/neuter services, as they are one of the most efficient and effective methods of reducing the homeless pet population. We provide spay/neuter services throughout the Central Texas area via both mobile and stationary clinics, and serve between 1,200 – 2,000 pets each month. We employ highly skilled veterinary surgeons and veterinary technicians, and our medical protocols exceed the highest standards in veterinary medicine today.For more information, please visit www.emancipet.org.
About the ASPCA®: Founded in 1866, the ASPCA ® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ®) was the first humane organization established in the Americas, and today has more than one million supporters throughout North America. A 501 [c] [3] not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA provides local and national leadership in animal-assisted therapy, animal behavior, animal poison control, anti-cruelty, humane education, legislative services, and shelter outreach. The New York City headquarters houses a full-service, accredited animal hospital, adoption center, and mobile clinic outreach program. The Humane Law Enforcement department enforces New York’s animal cruelty laws and is featured on the reality television series “Animal Precinct” on Animal Planet. For more information, please visit www.aspca.org.
The Spay Austin Coalition was recently notified of a desperate situation on Santa Rosa street in east Austin by Shadow Cats rescue. Feral cat trappers Julia Hilder (Spay Austin Coalition President) and coalition member Calene Summers (Thundering Paws) answered the call only to find one of the worst situations they could imagine.
What started as a few cats and kittens in a yard soon became the reality of an entire block overrun with wild cats and kittens. One of the neighbors puts food out regularly, the others throw out food scraps for the cats to scavenge. As Julia and Calene began trapping the first few cats they quickly realized there were many more than originally reported. As Julia was trapping one day, a resident pointed to an orange tabby and said, “That’s the mother who started it all”. Her current litter is living in a box on the front porch.
The cats have staked out their territory in individual yards, living in bushes and under cars and homes. Several litters of kittens, in addition to the one on the porch, have already been born and the females without new kittens are pregnant and will give birth any day.
So far more than 20 kittens have been removed from the neighborhood and, had they not been rescued, would have been doomed to a life of misery. One kitten was found limping down the street with a broken femur after being hit by a car. Julia rushed this tiny kitten to Riverside Veterinary Clinic where a pin was placed into her leg. She is indeed one of the lucky ones.
The adults are too wild to be adopted so they are being spayed and neutered, then returned to the neighborhood where they will continue to live, but will no longer contribute to the overpopulation problem. The process of sterilizing feral cats and replacing them where they were found is called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR naysayers contend the cost of surgery for these homeless cats is not worthwhile and would be better spent on family pets. However, studies have shown not only does it stop the breeding cycle, the cats have claimed the area as their own thereby preventing new cats from moving in to start the cycle all over again.
Of course, all it takes is two intact cats abandoned in that neighborhood, which is why it’s so important to spay and neuter all pets at an early age. The Spay Austin Coalition began as a concerted effort by a number of animal welfare groups working together to reduce the number of animals killed at the Town Lake Animal Center. After six years, our efforts have started making a difference. We were chosen as the group to assist the director of TLAC in drafting the original guidelines for the citywide TNR efforts that continue today. The ASPCA funded a grant called Mission Orange that provided resources directly to spay/neuter programs in Austin, including specifically for feral cats.
If you are interested in helping the Spay Austin Coalition in our efforts, please consider donating today. If you want your funds to go directly to the Santa Rosa Project, Shadow Cats Rescue has set up a funding page. All of the donations through that portal go directly to the care of the Santa Rosa cats and kittens.
If you want to donate without specifying a project, simply use the Paypal button in the upper right corner of this page. The Spay Austin Coalition is an all volunteer organization with IRS 501(c)(3) status. All donations are tax exempt and go directly to the care of the animals we work with. We have no - zero - paid staff or administration costs.
If you don’t have the funds to donate, please consider fostering or adopting a kitten (or two, or three). To foster or adopt, send an email to president at spayaustin dot com, or check the President box on our contact form. The socialization of these kittens at an early age insures they will be suitable for adoption, where they will live a long and happy life as part of a family. Maybe yours.
The Spay Austin Coalition has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 6:30 pm. The meeting will take place at Julia’s home. Please RSVP to president at spayaustin dot com for the address if you plan to attend.
When: Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Where: Julia’s house
What: Feral trapper updates, strategic planning for new fiscal year goals, and input from coalition groups
Bring: yourself and optionally a vegan or vegetarian snack and/or wine and soft drinks to share
The Dallas City Council plans to vote in late June on measures to strengthen its animal control ordinances. Before that happens, though, the council must examine the enforcement options available under state law and then ask: Are we going far enough?
The proposed changes will include mandatory spaying or neutering of most pets. These are necessary long-term steps that will slowly help reduce the tens of thousands of stray dogs and cats roaming our streets. There’s also a proposal to stop owners from leaving their dogs tethered outside. Tethering is widely believed to make dogs more prone to attack.
So far, so good. But the proposed measures still don’t go far enough to hold irresponsible dog owners to a higher legal standard. Of particular concern are measures aimed at dangerous dogs – those with a record of inflicting bodily harm through an unprovoked attack. In both existing city law and the proposed law, the sanctions are dog-specific, not owner-specific.
If, for example, an irresponsible owner permits his dog to run free, and it mauls a child on the sidewalk, the city invokes a series of steps to help ensure that the dog won’t attack again, including forcing the owner to build a fence and purchase a $100,000 insurance policy. To escape those expenses, all the owner has to do is get rid of the dog.
Neither existing law nor the proposed changes do anything to ensure that the owner won’t simply purchase a new dog and continue the same irresponsible behavior that led to the original attack.
The new law must include stiff sanctions that stick to the owner, not just the dog. State law permits felony criminal prosecution of irresponsible owners, but the city doesn’t take advantage of it.
City Attorney Tom Perkins found a similar problem in his recent review of the city’s ordinances addressing abandoned or derelict structures. He determined that city ordinances were too lenient, considering the enforcement latitude allowed by state law. So, at his recommendation, the City Council beefed up local law to take the fullest possible advantage of what state law allows.
Why not do the same for the animal-control code?
And don’t forget enforcement. Get-tough laws are great, but if the city fails to enforce them because funds and staffing are insufficient, those laws become worse than meaningless.
There’s no question tougher laws are needed, as evidenced by the fact that residents in neighborhoods like Preston Hollow reportedly now walk the streets with guns after a recent dog attack. There’s got to be a better way, and it begins with laws that sanction irresponsible owners, not just their pets.
Key changes
in the law
•Mandatory spay/neuter for household pets
•Limit on the number of dogs and cats per household
•Ban on tethering unattended dogs
•Streamlined process to go after vicious dogs
What’s still needed
•Sanctions that apply specifically to irresponsible owners
If you are a dog or cat lover here’s a statistic that will make you sick. 12,000 adoptable animals were killed at the city shelter last year because there aren’t enough good homes and way too many puppies and kittens being born.
Public awareness of the crisis is getting more attention and old fashioned attitudes are changing but we still have a lot of work to cut the kill rate and make Austin a better place for our animal friends. Pet overpopulation is a community wide problem and it is the community that must work together to stop the killing. The answer is to spay and neuter your pet and Austin has excellent and inexpensive resources to get the job done.
Where can you get low cost spays and neuters? Emancipet operates a stationary clinic at 7201 Levander Loop and a mobile clinic at various locations in East Austin, 512-587-SPAY emancipet.org and Animal Trustees of Austin performs surgeries at 5129 Cameron Rd 512-450-0111 animaltrustees.org (pictured right).
What about all those feral (wild) cats? Feral cats in Austin are a big contributing factor to pet overpopulation and the large numbers of cats killed at the Town Lake Animal Center. But Austin is taking a humane and proactive approach to the problem and instead of trapping and killing these cats, they are being spayed and neutered and allowed to return and be fed by residents who were feeding them in the first place. Trap, Neuter and Return is what it is called and the Austin Humane Society is playing a key role in this life saving venture. Twice a week AHS holds clinics to spay and neuter large numbers of feral cats at no cost to the public. Austin Humane Society is located on 124 W. Anderson Ln, Lstivers@austinhumanesociety.org.
As we approach puppy/kitten season in Austin, which lasts from now through the summer and into the warm months of fall, please spread the word to neighbors, co-workers and relatives. Help them to be part of the solution to pet overpopulation by getting pets spayed or neutered.
In Mooresville, Ind., Tonja Robertson works the crowd at the bustling little farmers market every Saturday. She sets up near the honeybee-farm booth, arranges the muffins she baked at 4:30 that morning, and speaks of her passion — the millions of unwanted puppies and kittens born every year and the simple way to end that. On a good day, six or seven people accept vouchers she offers for low-cost pet sterilizations.
Five hundred miles away, in Asheville, N.C., more than 100 dog- and cat-toting pet owners arrive at the Humane Alliance or its pickup sites daily, drawn by the well-publicized promise of cheap, quick sterilizations.
Similar scenes are being repeated across the country — from urban centers to farmlands to reservations — through huge initiatives and tiny grassroots efforts.
While California is in the spotlight for controversial mandatory-pet-sterilization legislation under discussion there, the rest of the country is hearing an insistent message that, although far short of compulsory sterilization, encourages and facilitates spay/neuters.
“We now know we can’t adopt our way out of the pet overpopulation problem. We’ve got to halt the problem at the source,” says Peter Marsh of Concord, N.H. His state allocates $2 of every mandated dog license to help low-income residents sterilize their pets. Since its passage, 70% fewer dogs and cats are being euthanized annually.
The simple math, experts say, is that far more animals are being born every year than can be placed.
More pets than potential homes for them
Despite successful campaigns to persuade prospective owners to adopt shelter pets, about 7 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters every year, and there’s no evidence that adoptions will increase enough to close the gap, experts say.
The massive number of animals euthanized in shelters “was the secret that no one wanted to talk about or hear about,” even as recently as the 1990s, when 17 million animals were being destroyed annually, says Aimee St. Arnaud of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Now those numbers are being broadcast and push to spay or neuter is accelerating:
•Pet overpopulation and sterilization conferences are drawing thousands. In September, the Southern Regional Spay/Neuter Leadership Conference takes place in Memphis; in October the Fix It Forum will be held in Oak Brook, Ill.
•Big companies are contributing millions. In 2006, PetSmart Charities gave $4.2 million to sterilization initiatives, nearly triple the amount granted in 2002. And the foundation just announced a $6 million, five-year program called Spay Texas, which it believes will sterilize 1 million pets.
•Groups large and small are providing or subsidizing low-cost or free sterilizations, often using mobile units.The North Shore Animal League America is making it simple for anyone anywhere to locate discounted programs. Its SPAY/USA (800-248-7729 or www.spayusa.org) service constantly updates a list and answers 2,800 queries a month.
•The Humane Alliance in Asheville, which performs 22,000 sterilizations annually and is regarded as the gold standard for low-cost, high-volume spay/neuters, has received grants from the ASPCA and PetSmart Charities to help groups in several states, including California, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee and Ohio, establish similar programs.
“The euthanasia rate in the Asheville area has been reduced by 72%,” says St. Arnaud. Providing money to extend that model made sense, she says.
In an unprecedented move, several groups, including ASPCA, Humane Society of the United States, PetSmart Charities, International Fund for Animal Welfare and United Animal Nations, collaborated to fund a massive operation on the Gulf Coast, where 80% of the animals that wound up in shelters after Hurricane Katrina weren’t neutered. The money supports voucher-subsidy programs plus clinics and mobile units capable of sterilizing nearly 40,000 animals a year. Some 22,000 animals have already been reached, says HSUS’ Vicki Stevens.
‘Many people don’t appreciate the necessity’
Meanwhile, grassroots groups, most of them operating on a shoestring, are making inroads.
•Spay-Neuter Indianapolis Pets (SNIP), the effort headed by Robertson, is battling mind-set and logistical issues. “Many people don’t appreciate the necessity of sterilization,” she says, so much of the task is determining and presenting the most convincing argument for that person. Subsidized vouchers help, but there’s still the long journey to the vet, so she’s doing fundraising to buy a van. And she’ll do the transport.
•In Colorado Springs, the Hamlett Spay & Neuter Clinic performs about 550 sterilizations a month. Sterilizations are free to those who can prove need; low-cost is available to others.
Wherever they are performed, sterilizations in the future may be faster, cheaper and non-surgical — probably a shot or an implant. The non-profit Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs has been pushing for a non-surgical approach since 2000; it expects to present by year’s end a petition pressing pharmaceutical companies to bring animal contraceptives to market.
Contraceptives are in limited use in Europe and Australia. In the USA, a contraceptive for male dogs could be on the market by 2008, says ACC’s Joyce Briggs. The group hopes to raise $10 million for research and development of promising non-surgical treatments.
“We think this will make a dramatic difference in the pet overpopulation problem worldwide, ” she says.
The single most important thing that we can do to save animals from all the suffering and death that their overpopulation causes is to spay and neuter them. Just one unaltered female cat and her offspring can produce an estimated 420,000 cats in only seven years. In six years, a female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies. So every time we spay or neuter just one animal, we prevent the births of thousands of animals. On the other hand, if we pass by even one unsterilized animal without seeing to it that she or he is spayed or neutered, we are turning our backs on thousands of unwanted animals and more than likely condemning them to hideous fates.
If you haven’t yet sterilized the animals with whom you share your home, do so today. If you think that you can offer your home to an animal and provide for his or her needs for 10 to 15 years, please go to your shelter now because there are many there who are waiting for you. Adopt two compatible animals so that they can keep each other company.
Make a pledge right now to take personal responsibility for neutering or spaying every unsterilized animal you encounter. Is there an unaltered cat hanging around the back porch? Does your neighbor have a female dog who keeps going into heat or a male dog who keeps jumping the fence to chase after females in heat? Is your friend or family member giving away a litter of kittens? Help make sure that all unwanted animals are taken to open-admission shelters and then help get animals who are staying in homes spayed or neutered. Don’t let the surgery be put off—be persistent! If money is preventing it, offer to pay for the procedure (you’ll be saving animals’ lives). If transportation to the vet is the obstacle—become a dog or cat taxi driver for a day! If the guardians still aren’t convinced that spaying and neutering are vital to saving animals’ lives, order our free literature on the subject to help them understand.
If possible, spay your whole street! Offer to have your neighbors’ dogs and cats sterilized at a clinic or a local low-cost spay/neuter program (call 1-800-248-SPAY for details).
Work on the front lines of the overpopulation crisis by teaming up with your local animal shelter to save and improve animals’ lives. Make sure that your local shelter requires that animals be spayed or neutered before adoption. If sterilization is not required, work for policy change at the shelter.
Many shelters are in serious need of reform. Citizen involvement is essential if progress is to be made. You can be successful by organizing friends, neighbors, and other concerned individuals to take action.
If your local pound or shelter is using any method other than an intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital, protest to local authorities and demand the implementation of humane practices. Check state and local laws for prescribed methods of euthanasia and insist that your local shelter comply with these requirements. Euthanasia should always be performed by well-trained, caring staff members, and animals should never be euthanized in view of other animals.
Finally, fight the cruel industries that profit from breeding and selling animals while millions more die because of a lack of homes. People who patronize pet shops or seek out purebreds from breeders are adding to the population overload. Speak up if someone you know intends to breed his or her animal or plans to buy from a pet store or breeder. Get our free literature on pet shops, puppy mills, and spaying and neutering to provide more information. If there’s a pet store in your local mall, urge the mall manager to give it the boot and instead lend that space to an animal shelter to use as an adoption center for homeless animals.
So far more than 20 kittens have been removed from the neighborhood and, had they not been rescued, would have been doomed to a life of misery. One kitten was found limping down the street with a broken femur after being hit by a car. Julia rushed this tiny kitten to Riverside Veterinary Clinic where a pin was placed into her leg. She is indeed one of the lucky ones.
Feral cats in Austin are a big contributing factor to pet overpopulation and the large numbers of cats killed at the Town Lake Animal Center. But Austin is taking a humane and proactive approach to the problem and instead of trapping and killing these cats, they are being spayed and neutered and allowed to return and be fed by residents who were feeding them in the first place. Trap, Neuter and Return is what it is called and the Austin Humane Society is playing a key role in this life saving venture. Twice a week AHS holds clinics to spay and neuter large numbers of feral cats at no cost to the public. Austin Humane Society is located on 124 W. Anderson Ln,