The Central Texas floods over the holiday weekend are an ongoing, living nightmare for many in Austin and the surrounding areas. Many people are still waiting to hear about their missing loved ones — and that includes missing pets. In order to help Kerrville-area animal shelters clear out space for animals recovered from the flood, Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) has stepped up. Austinites can help.

"We're not pulling flood victims," says APA! senior public relations and communications officer Luis Sanchez. "I think there's been some confusion about that. We are taking in animals that were already at the receiving shelters before the flood, so they can take in pets lost in the flood."

That way, he explains, it should be easier for residents of those areas to track down their pets, rather than looking across counties.

So far, APA! has taken in over 220 animals from those shelters, and already, almost all of them have been placed with a temporary foster family here in Austin.

"The response has been really, really great," says Sanchez. But APA! still needs help. Specifically, Sanchez says, they need:

Donations:

• Donations: Austinites can make a monetary donation to help support displaced animals.
• Supplies: Austinites can donate supplies by dropping them off at the APA! Cesar Chavez location, in the main visitor parking lot in front of the foster shed between 8 am and 6 pm.
  • Supplies needed now include:
    • flea/tick meds, vaccines
    • airline kennels (plastic) for medium to large dogs (26” in length to 36”)
    • potty pads
    • zip ties
    • martingale collars (medium to large)
    • X-pens
    • wire crates (medium and large)
    • cat and dog carriers for the car
    • dawn dish soap
    • scrub pads
    • nitrile gloves
    • small bags of food
    • canned food (both dog and cat)
• Volunteers: Fill out this form and show up at the APA! Cesar Chavez location at either 10 am, 1 pm, or 4 pm. Volunteers include people willing to drive to pick up animals or supplies; people to support with intake, care, and placement of onsite animals at APA!; and volunteers to sort supplies at APA! The website emphasizes that volunteers should not wait for a response before stopping by.
• Fosters: Fill out this form and head over APA! Cesar Chavez between noon and 6 pm. Specifically, the shelter is in need of long-term fosters (1-2 weeks or more), fosters comfortable with medical animal needs, and "low traffic" foster homes with no other pets or kids.
• Adopters: "We have to figure out the next step when the fosters start coming back in. We can't just have them all come back to the shelter at once," says Sanchez. "So we need to convert people into adopters or long-term fosters."

If you're looking to adopt a pet, now would be a helpful time to do so to clear out needed space at APA! For those ready to adopt, head over to the Cesar Chavez or Tarrytown APA! locations during open hours. Adoptable pets can be viewed here.

While these efforts are going on here in Austin, APA!, along with Kerrville Pets Alive, has staff and volunteers actively looking for lost pets along the riverbanks, often finding animals "eight or nine miles away from where they were originally," says Sanchez.

According to a newsletter sent out July 7 from APA! president and CEO Dr. Ellen Jefferson, the organization is also now offering emotional support services for pet owners and volunteers.

For those who are missing a pet due to the floods, or have found someone else's pet, Kerrville Search and Rescue recommends filling out this form, calling 830-200-0539, or posting to the Petco Love Lost platform, especially if located in Williamson County.