Austin Pets Alive!

I love it here, nice people. It takes a while but other than that definitely worth the wait. I just adopted an adorable puppy from here. Lovely people and lovely dog. Would definitely recommend to anyone

Honestly, I was balling my entire visit. I had never seen an outdoor facility. We adopted my first dog from an indoor humane society, which was sad, but not devastating like this was. The flooding, thunder, and lightning only made this experience worse because the dogs were freaking out.
I had done some research and already had my heart set on a pup I saw online. I couldn’t find him at first and had to ask a volunteer for help through my tears and ugly crying face. He was so young that I couldn’t hold him until I was POSITIVE I was going to adopt him, which I was. An APA worker brought him out for me and I held him and naturally fell in love with this adorable fluff ball. After this heart breaking experience I went home empty handed because he was supposed to be neutered the next day. They called and pushed back his surgery because one of his litter mates had a URI and they wanted him to be as healthy as possible for the surgery.
I never received the complimentary health coverage email, but that didn’t stop the clinic from prescribing him medication on two different occasions. I am so impressed! I take pride in being a good puppy mom, so I was going to dish out 100+ dollars at the vet to get him treated (for two different common puppy issues, nothing serious), but then I remembered that APA covers your first month. The APA clinic has seriously gone above and beyond for me and my Kylo! They have helped me on two separate occasion by providing free medication for him.
When visiting, keep in mind that these dogs would be dead or living in a dumpster in even worse conditions if it weren’t for APA. In fact, they rescued my baby from a kill shelter and nursed him back to health even though they thought his litter wouldn’t make it. Yes, it’s sad to see dogs on cement beds which is why I got my baby out of there, but at least they aren’t street dogs rotting away with infection and starving. So kudos APA, thank you!

As a veterinary professional I can assure you that this place adopts out the MOST aggressive and ill mannered dogs that I have EVER seen in my life. They seem to adopt them out to anyone too. Even people with no prior experience with dogs!!!
*APA can deny this fact all they want but I see it with my own eyes, almost daily. I feel terrible for new owners who bring their dog in, requesting a behavior consultation, not wanting to euthanize or return him/​her but needing drastic improvement and feeling lied to.
I also have to mention that I had the unfortunate experience of working with APA during the Bastrop fires a few years ago. APA wanted to rescue EVERYTHING! Even animals who were critically injured/​burned and suffering. They didn’t even bring euthanasia solution! This was one of the saddest and most frustrating days of my life. That is absolutely NOT part of the veterinary oath that they took upon graduating from college — if they even graduated.
I understand wanting to save animals, sick animals, that is why I work in this field. However, sometimes you have to realize when and where to draw the line. APA can deny it all they want. Sometimes you have to understand that you are torturing them.
Best

My adoption experience with them was very positive. 2 years ago we adopted a kitten from them. Like others have said there was some pressure to take his litter mate too but they relented on it fairly quickly. Our cat is now a happy 2 year old adult who purrs like its his job. The animals are great and my experience adopting from the cattery was very pleasant.
So why only 3 stars? Well it is primarily due to their fostering program. I signed up to help foster cats. I enjoy volunteer work and helping a kitty be comfortable while they wait for their forever home is a worthy investment (time, money, gas, etc). But the staff at the APA! make fostering for them a nightmare. The clinic staff are at best dismissive and at worst outright hostile. They carry such an air of superiority and treat you (who is donating your money, time, travel, etc) like you’re just another problem. It has made me VERY hesitant to foster again because the way the staff treated me was just simply horrible.
My other concern is the housing of the dogs. So you walk through a small building out to a courtyard to get to the cattery. The courtyard is full of tiny and disgusting smelling kennels. The endless barking, smell, and sheer chaos is enough to rattle a person let alone a scared pup. I understand running a nonprofit is tough but the dogs just don’t look happy in their tiny cement prison cells that seem to reek of urine and feces.

Just adopted a new fur baby here on Monday, and we had a great experience with the whole process. We saw a little blue staffy/​pit bull on the APA website and had to meet her right away. She was in foster, but within a few days our meeting with her foster mom Victoria was scheduled. Victoria is a vet tech for APA, which made me feel even more comfortable with the whole situation.
We met her this past Saturday at Zilker and fell in love instantly. We put an adoption application in that evening and had an adoption counselor interview scheduled for Monday. After about a 30 minute chit-​chat at the Tarrytown adoption center with a lovely counselor, we got with Victoria via text and planned to pick her up right away from TLAC. We headed over and got her home ASAP to meet her two fur siblings.
The staff was great and her foster mom was even more great. Ellie actually was surrendered due to a Parvo illness, and APA took great care of her to get her back well and rehabilitate a lame leg. Thanks to her wonderful foster mom and the staff at APA we were lucky enough to meet and fall in love with her and feel blessed to have rescued her. I even want to keep in touch with the foster mom and have play dates with her and her pit!

I don’t know how to totally evaluate this facility (just adopted last week) but I’ll list what I see as the good and the bad. Went in to adopt a kitten, fell in love with one.
The cat facilities do seem old and small and maybe sort of dirty, but I’m not going to judge because maybe they have low funding and can’t afford to upgrade. They did seem to take precautions to separate the contagious ones from the non-​contagious (for instance, cats with known FeLV or worms are kept separate from those without).
It was an usual adoption experience. I agree with the below reviews about shelter staff basically trying to decide your adoption for you. I was told at least 7 times not to adopt a kitten (that it would be selfish of me), that I was shortening my other pets life if I did, that I should adopt at least two kittens, etc. By the time I left I felt like I’d just spent all day shopping for used cars; it was emotionally exhausting.
I admire their mission, but really APA, can’t you just stick to facts for potential adoptees rather than trying to live their lives for them? People often have a certain idea of what they want; trying to make them feel like a bad person for their choice (when they’re there to try to adopt) isn’t necessary, is it?

Happy with my adoption, I made the mistake of looking within a couple hours of closing so I had to return the next day to do the adoption but it turned out great. Got a great dog that had been there for 9 months. Helpful with continuing the Canine Good Citizen training (he is so close to graduating). For not having a phone, they are incredibly responsive with email correspondence. The detailed notes they keep on every dogs behavior is impressive

I guess some other people haven’t had such a great experience here and that’s a shame. But I did, and I’m going to tell you about it.
They have you sign in and then let you wander and peruse the animals. So I did and found one that seemed like my type of dog — I asked a volunteer (I think?) about the dog I was interested in and she knew exactly who I was talking about — she told me all about him while she got him out and took us to one of the play areas and got things started — and she was clear about what she/​they didn’t know about him. Then she told me that she was going to run out for a few minutes to let us interact and really get a sense of how he and I would fit. I loved him and wanted to take him right then but the only problem was that I was on my lunch break but could come back as soon as I got out of work. She asked me what the absolute latest I could be there was and said that he was mine if I came back before that time.
I did, and they put me with an adoption counselor immediately — I believe her name was Carrie. She walked me through the process and had me fill out the application paperwork and made sure that I had all his papers, and that any questions I had or was unsure about were answered. She gave really helpful answers that helped me feel more confident.
Then out I walked with my boy, and he is AMAZING! It’s clear that he’s been loved on and treated really well while he was there — he’s such a happy boy! Thanks so much APA, you guys work so hard and it really shows.

Place smells horrible! Animals are outside and they are miserable! The staff is rude and condescending. One of the employees treated me so horribly! I wanted to adopt a dog and wanted one that is a good fit for me. The employee said my lifestyle fits with no dogs and he was talking to me like if I were dumb. I probably make more money in a week than he does in a year. I left in tears! I am almost positive that he was racist based on some comments he made to me. Newsflash, white people are NOT the only ones that love animals and want to help them and rescue! Horrible, Horrible experience. I went to Austin Humane Society and I was treated great! I adopted a doggy and I LOVE her! The place is clean and the staff really cares for the animals and appreciates potential adopters.

This is really about the staff’s attitudes, not how they treat the animals. Despite my having a dislocated shoulder, I hauled in a number of (heavy, difficult to maneuver) items to donate. I was sent to THREE different buildings by the bored, rude, able-​bodied 20 somethings on duty. The last of whom couldn’t even be bothered to hold the door for me as she flicked her hand at me to leave the items outside. Fortunately a patron was there to open the door. Get some manners, staff, it makes a difference in life.

Austin Pets Alive staff was so rude and condescending, I’d rather moon walk barefoot over razor blades, while chewing on tin foil as to engage them again.

I have been to APA several times over the past month looking for a dog to adopt. I finally found one I knew was right for me the other day and I could not be happier!
Almost all of the employees are incredibly helpful and happy to answer questions
Unfortunately when I was there a few days ago — and I was there for almost six hours, hanging out with the pup I eventually adopted, I spent 30 – 45 minutes with a girl working there who was very overbearing and condescending. I asked her multiple questions, I think they were completely reasonable (having never had a puppy before), like «what is the best way to deal with separation anxiety, if she has it?», «what would be the best way to encourage her not to bark?», «what’s the best method for house training?» etc. — she had a very holier-​than-​thou attitude to these questions. Most insulting, at one point I turned to ask her a question and she was in the middle of rolling her eyes at me. Alright, I’ve never had a little pup before, I want to take the best care of it and train it as well as I can. Don’t be annoyed by that.
Everybody else working there was very happy to answer those same questions and gave me very helpful answers. I love what they do, and I think it is a really great place. That one person just really soured my experience.

We had a good experience but we dealt mostly with Riley’s foster mom. I don’t think it would have gone quite as smoothly without her. Riley is simply awesome, couldn’t have asked for more.

My boyfriend and I stopped by ABGB to grab some beer and pizza and Austin Pets Alive happened to be having an adoption event… So whadda ya know, we ended up with another fur baby. Her name is Rosie and she is a tiny little chihuahua yorkie mix. We fell in love right away and the volunteers were absolutely wonderful! They were so sweet and made sure to tell us everything we needed to know about little Rosie. The adoption process was thorough and quite quick and the staff was so happy to see her go to a good home. Im forever a fan of Austin Pets Alive!!!

This review is only about the staff, the animals are lovely and completely blameless.
About 6 months ago my husband and I went in to adopt a kitten (my cat of 10 years just passed away). I was also thinking I might want an older cat, to help balance out the kitten. We had tons of fun playing with all of the kitties, and after a looooong time selected two. One kitten, and one cat around 4 years old.
When I spoke to the employee about my selection, she discouraged me from separating siblings, and disparaged the older cat, «he’s been returned for behavioral issues, and he’d just be mean to the kitten». Fair enough. But then she kept pushing the kitten’s sibling on me, things like «well it’s really in the best interest of the cats, don’t you care about that?», etc etc. I folded.
And then we started the lengthy application process, and things took a sharp turn. When my husband wrote that he previously adoped 2 dogs from APA, the lady asked follow up questions. When she learned the dogs died, she said insinuated that he had been a negligent dog dad (they died from natural causes, nothing nefarious at all). When I got to the questions about my lease and landlord, I had some trouble remembering the right info. I had to call my sister to get his number, but it turns out I had it in my phone the whole time. I just moved, and I had pregnancy-​brain. But apparently, this one thing was SO suspicious, the lady got up and disappeared for TWENTY minutes with no explaination. Turns out she was consulting with her manager, and they decided we were unfit to adopt two kittens.
My husbands previous dog ownership, and my forgetting the landlords name were enough for them to reject our application. If she had told us tactfully, or even politely, I wouldn’t had been so mad. But we were treated like criminals, and the judgement was palpable.
I know they’re doing a good thing, and this was an isolated incident. But they went too far, and I won’t be back.

I didn’t like this place at all. Very stinky and dirty. Most of the animals are outdoors. Not much of a selection.

Always been a visitor here. A great stress-​buster !!
I visit the cattery here every few months, just to pet and play with the kittens (and also make a small donation on my way out, cos I really admire this organization and their efforts).
The volunteers steal the show :) They are really dedicated. Keep up the good work peeps !

If I were writing a review on my newly adopted shelter kitty, I would be giving 5 stars, because he’s perfect! Unfortunately, the service at APA was atrocious. When I adopted this 8wk old kitten who’d been taken off of a euthanasia list the day before, I was given a hard time, told it «was a shame,» that the kitten would be «bored, unhappy and destructive» because I wasn’t also adopting his litter mate. I explained (which I shouldn’t have had to) that I could only have 1 cat, but was still made to feel bad I didn’t adopt his brother from the time I picked him out until I walked out the door, and this was by multiple girls working that evening on 10÷8÷15.
I was told I HAD TO have him neutered there, not at a vet of my choice and was required to leave a $ 100 deposit until I returned to have him neutered at APA. On the day of his surgery, I was told to drop him off at 8a — no one showed at their clinic until 8:30a and I was late to work. I got a call 2 hours later (after his initial exam at the time of drop off) that he had been previously neutered.
Halfway home from picking him up, I looked in his carrier to see his towel and nice toy I sent him in with were gone. I called to ask about our items and was told I shouldn’t have put personal items in his carrier. So, not only was he without the comfort items all day, they were also stolen. I also asked if he had been put under anesthesia even tho no surgery was performed. She replied, «probably. Do you want me to check?» I did want her to check and luckily, according to her, he was not.
While APA has a great mission and a tough job, they need some lessons in etiquette. I would have hoped to have been shown some appreciation for adopting a shelter kitty but was instead made to feel guilty, my time was wasted and I was ripped off. Really disappointed with this experience.

Yeah, I know. Let me explain.
In February, my boyfriend told me that he was going to let me adopt a dog for my birthday. He even sent links to dogs at APA to my sister to see if she thought I would like them. How sweet. After browsing the site, I picked out 6 – 7 dogs I wanted to look at and I only had three requirements:
1) I DID NOT want a puppy. I wanted a dog that was 2 – 3 years old, or even older if the dog was a good fit.
2) The dog HAD TO be cat friendly, as I have two five year old cats that I’ve had since they were kittens. They come first.
3) The dog HAD TO be okay with small children. I have a 1 year old niece that visits about once a month or so and she loves dogs. She pets them very nicely and is very gentle, but some dogs just don’t feel comfortable with small children, so that wouldn’t work for us.
Since my work schedule is so weird, John went to APA by himself to play with some of the dogs I selected. When John was asked what kind of dog he was looking for, and he mentioned the need for the dog to be cat and child friendly, we were told, in no uncertain terms, that we would have to adopt a puppy. What, because out of the hundreds of dogs y’all get a year, there are zero older dogs that have demonstrated in a foster environment that they are child and cat friendly? I don’t think so.
I find a puppy listed online that might be a good fit and John goes to visit the dog on his lunch break — except the website hasn’t been updated yet and the dog is in an entirely different location. Luckily, it’s just the South Congress location, so John rushes over to meet the dog for a few minutes. The dog is calm and seems friendly, so John decides to go back the next day to play with him longer.
John asks about the application and we fill one out so that we can get the process started. When John brings in the application the next day, he is informed that they won’t accept our application until we are ready to adopt a dog. Uhhh, what? We are going to adopt a dog, just not right that minute. Don’t you want to make sure we’re going to be good dog owners? Why can’t I just have an application on file until I find the right dog for me?
John just keeps the application and plays with the same puppy and he says the dog is calm and very friendly. No idea if he is cat or child friendly, but, since he’s a puppy, we are told he «probably is.»
John then asks if he can turn in his application because he is interested in that dog. «Only if you are going to adopt him today.» John is on his lunch break and can’t just take the dog home right that minute. John asks if they can hold the dog for a few hours until he gets off work. «No.» Seriously?! We are telling you we are going to take the dog, and you can’t just hold him for us for all of three hours? He’s not even at the main location, so it’s not like he is taking up kennel space at APA right that second. And we are telling you we will pick him up before you close, so you don’t even have to transport him back!
John finds a way to make it happen and nobody even seems to look at our application. They give it a cursory glance and then hand us the dog. What’s the point of filling it out if you’re not doing anything with the information? The dog had ringworm and the person working gives us another dog’s medication before John says something and she gives us the right medication.
We get the dog home and find a way to quarantine him until the ringworm is done and oh, boy, remember how I said I did not want a puppy? Puppies require a lot of time and effort and I wanted a dog that already had a lot of these puppy issues out of the way. The dog was not house trained, he submissively urinates all the time, and he chews up so many things, including most of my succulents. He’s house trained now and he mostly doesn’t submissively urinate, but he’ll still do it from time to time, even while playing. He still chews up so many things, despite having a multitude of chew toys he loves and being taken on walks multiple times a day AND being taken to an office to play with other dogs on a daily basis.
He’s also food and toy aggressive, but only with other dogs. If a person touches his food or takes a toy away from him, he doesn’t care in the slightest. If a dog even gets near him, aggression. We’re going to work with a trainer to help him get past that behavior, because that is unacceptable, but it would have been really nice if someone at APA had ensured that he was not aggressive with dogs around toys or food. And it’s not every dog, either — sometimes he is okay if another dog takes his toy, but he is always aggressive with dogs around food. It is clear to me that they never let him play or eat around other dogs, or they would have seen these issues.
I cannot in good conscience support an organization that does not properly vet dogs and is that unorganized and uncooperative during the adoption process. Sorry, Austin Pets Alive.

APA does not adequately evaluate dogs for behavior problems which includes aggressive tendencies.
I adopted a little Chi/​Pom 6 months ago. I soon found out that he had behavior issues and
I hired a professional trainer who diagnosed him to be hypervigilant with leash aggression.
He also has separation anxiety and nips at the legs of family members who leave the house.
Our training is to try to minimize the dogs triggers. Unfortunately, triggers happen no matter how much I work to stop them. I cannot take the dog on leisure walks and I have to issue warnings to visitors to not pick up the dog and not to pat the dog. If I decide to keep the
dog I will be spending my time with him trying to prohibit him from reaching his aggressive
threshold.
If you decided to adopt from APA I suggest you hire a professional trainer to diagnose the
dogs temperment. That way, you know if it is trainable and you will not have to deal with
the stress of deciding to return the dog back to APA.