Animal Advocates Push to Allow Pets in Austin Cooling Centers

Animal Advocates Push to Allow Pets in Austin Cooling Centers

So far this summer, the capital city hasn’t been wracked with quite as many heat warnings as last year, but with temperatures regularly hitting the upper 90s, the weather still poses a significant threat to the most vulnerable Austinites—and their pets. In response, the Animal Advisory Commission unanimously passed a resolution this week urging the city to permit pets inside city-run cooling centers. 

Commissioner Lotta Smagula introduced the resolution citing concerns stemming from seeing a lot of Austin’s “unhoused population out with their pets in the high heat of last summer.”

Currently, if someone arrives at a cooling center with a companion animal, Animal Services is contacted. If an animal protection officer and air-conditioned truck are available, they will be sent to the cooling center to house the animal in the truck until its owner departs. 

“I just don’t think that is an efficient use of the animal protection officers when there are so many calls that they are having to respond to,” said Smagula at Monday’s commission meeting. Austin Animal Center has struggled with overcrowding for years and recently halted all but emergency intakes at the shelter.

A spokesperson for the Austin Animal Center couldn’t comment on how much the current arrangement affects the department or how often, if ever, they’d been unable to send a truck to a cooling center. AAC has not received any calls from cooling centers so far this year. 

City ordinances do allow service animals in the cooling centers, which are often located in public libraries or recreation centers. In response to a request to clarify the rules in 2022, chief emergency plans officer Bill Wilson noted that other pets were not allowed in order “to mitigate safety and sanitation risks,” as regularly scheduled community activities, such as summer camps or library-hosted book clubs, continue during cooling center activations. 

In response to similar questions, Mark Sloat, who was program manager at the city’s Animal Services Office at the time, explained that during very hot days in 2022 the department did outreach among those experiencing homelessness to inform them of the cooling centers. He claimed no one with pets was ever turned away. 

Commissioner Ann Linder, however, voiced concerns at Monday’s meeting that the current regulations could result in residents with animals delaying their decision to go to cooling centers because their pets will not be allowed and the availability of an animal service truck is unknown prior to arrival. 

“Right now it seems like the only three options are bad ones,” said Linder. “Either we’re taking an APO officer off of other calls. Or that person is just going to abandon their dog and go into the cooling center because that’s what they need to do for their own health. Or, three, they’re going to not go into that shelter when that’s what they need to do.” 

While it is ultimately up to City Council if and how such a change would be implemented, Smagula said she’d support a recommendation to keep a few crates at cooling centers, in which pets could be kept indoors. The city provides similar accommodations at some of the overnight warming centers, so there would be precedent for the change, she said. 

In the meantime, there are some other options for residents with pets who need to stay cool. Across Austin, Petco locations are offering free cooling center spaces with water fountains and paper water bowls for pets during business hours. Leashed pets of all breeds and sizes are welcome. 

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