BASTROP -- The Bastrop County Animal Shelter is at full capacity. The manager says that is not unusual, but it is a big problem because this community is still struggling to rebuild.
At the height of the Bastrop County wildfires in September, the local animal shelter had its hands and kennels full.
"The first week after the fire we were inundated with about 300-plus animals," said Erica Baker, the manager of the Bastrop County Animal Shelter.
The good news according Baker is all of those animals were reunited with their owners. She says additional strays were moved, thanks to the outpouring of support from other animal rescue agencies in town and in and out of state.
Now, with the fires a distant memory for many except those who live here, the Bastrop County Animal Shelter is at capacity again and needing help again.
"We need rescue groups to come more than ever and pull animals to disperse them to other areas aside from Bastrop," said Baker. "Fifteen hundred lost is 1,500 families that may have had new places for their pets to live or not to be able to adopt any time in the near future. That will hurt our adoption numbers."
The Austin Humane Society has many partner shelters. Bastrop County is one of them. The Humane Society and many other shelters are experiencing the same capacity issues as Bastrop.
"In the last couple of days, we have gotten calls from all our partner agencies in Williamson County, Bastrop, Hays County," said Lisa Starr, the Austin Humane Society Public relations manager. "Everyone is full. Our own brand new Austin Animal Center is housing dogs in cat cages because they are full as well. Right now, the Austin Humane Society is also full, so we are not able to help at this time."
The Austin Humane Society is reducing adoption fees for all of its dogs and cats this weekend hoping to create space for animals from its partner shelters, like Bastrop, by next week.
