Overview
- Two enclosed kennel buildings that together hold about 80 dogs lost full air conditioning earlier this month and have been cooled with portable AC units and box fans since the outage.
- The City of Austin applied a temporary repair but interior temperatures remain in the low 90s and staff are closely monitoring animals for signs of heat stress.
- Shelter officials say no dogs have shown heat-related illness so far and that animals are being given water, access to cooler areas, and regular checks by care teams and vets.
- The shelter is overcapacity and will take part in a Clear the Shelter weekend with adoption fees waived to reduce population pressure and create space for emergencies.
- Replacement parts for a permanent fix have been hard to source in Texas heat and poor air circulation in the kennel rooms, plus frequent door openings by visitors, have complicated cooling efforts and strained staff operations.