Protecting Puppies and Kittens Starts with Proper Shelter Training
Jul 22, 2025 How APA!’s Training and Education Center is Fighting Preventable Diseases and Saving Lives Every year, thousands of puppies and kittens arrive at animal shelters across the country, full of potential and in need of care. But for many of them, the threat of deadly—yet preventable—diseases like parvovirus and panleukopenia is dangerously close. At Austin Pets Alive! (APA!), we’re on a mission to change that. Through our Training and Education Center, we’re providing essential knowledge and hands-on...
Helping Our Neighbors Affected by Devastating Floods in Kerr County
Jul 04, 2025 *THIS BLOG WILL BE UPDATED REGULARLY DURING THIS EMERGENCY RESPONSE. The Situation: The Guadalupe River is overflooded and has caused loss of life and devastation in Kerr County. There will be a lot of pets hurt and displaced during this, and our support is needed. Our team is already in Kerrville, providing medical care onsite and transporting animals to APA!. We will be working with Kerrville Pets Alive! over the next several days and, if possible, bringing more pets from the Kerr County shelter. This will allow...
A Day in the Life of Me: Honey Bun the Shelter Queen
Jun 26, 2025 Hey there, future human. It’s me, Honey Bun — yes, the Honey Bun. You might’ve heard about me. Smart, independent, loyal, and if I’m being honest, a bit of a diva (but in a good way). I’m here to give you the inside scoop on what my best day ever looks like — and maybe, just maybe, convince you that your couch needs a little extra sparkle. (Spoiler: it’s me. I’m the sparkle — just ask my foster.) 🌞 Mornings Done Right: Sunshine, Sniffs, and Breakfast The perfect day...
We Don’t Just Play with Puppies and Kittens All Day
May 01, 2025 May is Mental Health Month—a time to raise awareness, share stories, and shed light on the many facets of mental well-being. For those of us working in animal welfare, this month hits close to home. From the outside, our jobs may look like an endless stream of tail wags, purring, and adorable adoption photos. While there is no lack of those perks, there’s another side to our reality that is far more complex, emotionally taxing, and deeply human. Let’s be honest: animal welfare work is often misunderstood. While...
How Organizations Value Volunteers
Apr 21, 2025 How do you determine the value of a volunteer? Is it through the dollar amount of a volunteer hour? The number of hours they give each year? Each Volunteer Appreciation Week, we celebrate the incredible impact of our volunteers—often by recognizing those who dedicate countless hours and by sharing the tangible difference their efforts make for the animals in our care. In 2024 alone, volunteers contributed 82,334 hours across all APA! programs. That’s the equivalent of 40 full-time staff positions. Their impact is felt...
Ways to Help APA! Save the Tiniest Lives this Kitten Season
Apr 17, 2025 With Spring comes an influx of kittens found in need and sent to our shelter – kittens so small and fragile they need bottle feedings and other care around the clock to survive. Austin is at the center of innovation with caring for and saving these tiniest of lives, but we need your help to help all who need us this Kitten Season. 1. Volunteer or Foster From feeding and nursery upkeep to transport and data entry, there’s an opportunity for everyone in the nursery or at home. No experience...
Thinking Outside the Shelter Walls to Support Dogs In Need
Apr 14, 2025 Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) establishes programs whenever a gap in the shelter system’s live-outcome strategy is identified. APA!’s programming played a key role in making Austin the largest and longest-running no-kill community in the country. One of the last challenges to address was finding a path to live outcomes for big dogs, particularly those needing behavioral rehabilitation. To meet this need, APA! launched its Behavior Program in 2012. Our Behavior team works with dogs on a range of behaviors, from leash...
What to Expect When Expecting Kittens
Apr 01, 2025 Cat carrier after cat carrier of tiny little mews arriving for intake. Streams of fosters coming and going as they bring kittens for exams or pick up a new litter to take home. Volunteers bustling around the nursery, doing chores and keeping kittens fed. That’s a typical spring day at the Neonatal Program nursery at Austin Pets Alive!. APA!, which pioneers innovative lifesaving programs designed to save the animals most at risk of euthanasia, accepts over 2,000 kittens into its program each year. Kittens come from...
Hays County Contract Update
Mar 25, 2025 Partnership between Hays County and Austin Pets Alive! for Pet Resource Center to Conclude Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) has announced the conclusion of its partnership with Hays County in managing the Hays County Pet Resource, Education, and Research Center (Hays PRC). The conclusion comes after the Commissioner’s Court voted to terminate the contract to re-evaluate how to proceed with animal services in Hays County. Since its inception in April 2023, this collaboration has been instrumental in providing essential resources to...
APA! Encourages People To Adopt During PetSmart Charities National Adoption Week
Mar 24, 2025 AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 24, 2025 – Pets are family, and can bring hope, companionship and unconditional love to their people. Adopting a pet in need of a home can bring joy to people and also impact communities, alleviating strain on overcrowded shelters. That’s why Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) will bring adoptable pets to the Southpark Meadows Petsmart, 9300 S I-35 Frontage Rd, Austin, TX 78748, on March 29 and March 30 from 12 pm to 3 pm for PetSmart Charities® National Adoption Week, taking place March 24 –...
