Best pet adoption centers in Austin: find options near you

“We adopted Bailey three weeks ago, and she’s been such a joy. She’s playful, curious, and full of energy—always ready to explore, play with her toys, and make friends with other dogs. Bailey is the sweetest dog with a touch of sass, and we absolutely adore her.”

Exceptional staff and volunteers. Submit your info online with preferred dogs to streamline the process. They ensure a perfect match with ongoing post-adoption support. Our first visit didn’t result in a match, but we returned and met Reyna! Trust your instincts with animals. If adoption isn’t right, volunteer or donate supplies to support the center. Always full, it’s a great place to find your new best friend.

Me and my partner recently went to Austin Animal Center looking for another dog to keep our current dog company. The staff was amazing and we came in close to closing time but we were still able to meet the dog we were interested in! Next day we brought our dog to meet him, which went amazing, and that same day he went home with us! After walking through the facility and getting a list of dogs we were interested in, the staff gave us all the info on each pet to help us figure out who would be best with our dog at home. So happy we found Ranger Rick, who is now renamed Asteroid ☄️ Thank you Austin Animal Center for making sure these pets go to a loving, fit home!

We went in Sunday, after we had been to 5 or 6 other shelters in the area. The place was so well maintained and staff was so friendly and knowledgeable.
The nice lady in the cat Sanctuary (I know her name starts with an A) suggested Siren and she is the most playful friendly cat. She does so great with our yorkie poo(who is a bit of a jerk sometimes).
Thank you! To the whole animal shelter team. They will be getting all our future animal donations.

The shelter hid medical information. Our puppy showed clear signs within hours of nerve damage. She had no control of her bowels or tail which were stated at the shelter that she was scared and is currently struggling with diarrhea. Our vet stated the nerve damage should have been caught on intake or even regular interaction. AAC who had her for a month shared no information on the condition. Now we are stuck with the medical costs and likely will have to rehome our sweet girl as we cannot continue with expenses and cleanup. Had this been told to us we could have rescued a different dog but we will never adopt from here again.

SPEAK. TO. THE. RIGHT. ADOPTION. COUNSELOR at the front desk.
Please don’t take this P.S.A lightly.

It will 100% absolutely make your adoption experience either AMAZING or the most STRESSFUL experience ever that ends in heartbreak. If you feel a single HINT of the counselor you’re speaking to be un empathetic, off putting, fake or just overall weird vibes in the slightest. GET. A. SECOND. OPINION from a different counselor until you speak to the right one.
I’ve learned this the hard way and it ended with just absolutely crushing me and my girlfriends heart. I was furious and my girlfriend cried about 4 times. Some counselors are much more better suited and educated about their policies than others and if you try to argue about some uncertainties, certain individuals will seem to lie to cover their mistakes, which I had a feeling but what I experienced today just confirmed they were cover ups. Anyway, just be aware there’s a possibility you may get heavily misinformed by counselor or two. There seems to be consistency issues here among the information that’s being told and I should’ve just asked for a supervisor or lead from the beginning.

I lost a kitty I’ve had my eye on since day 1 to a random couple that walked in one morning that was allowed to continue with the adoption process, even though I was told DAYS PRIOR I’m not allowed to adopt her and that NO ONE ELSE IS due to her being underweight. That is what I was told.
She was adopted at the same exact weight few days later by another counselor.

It was part of the “policy” that seemed to be very strictly in place and my request to adopt was immediately shot down. So I complied and waited and visited, waited and visited again to check on the kitty that I wanted so badly to hit the required weight for me to adopt.
I asked to adopt again the next day and possibly check the weight, she weighed in less than her usual weight and I was told I should come back a couple of days later by that same counselor.
Only for me to come EXACTLY 24 hours later and get told by another counselor she had a couple come in to adopt that kitty 15 minutes prior. I was told through those days NO ONE ELSE can adopt her, she CANNOT be adopted while underweight, come back another time.
I pleaded to be on some kind of notification list that way I can come grab her the moment she is available. The counselor just told me no and to come back again as if it was so easy to do.
At the end of the day, the couple that adopted the kitty had an easy process with no questions asked, even though they were
under the SAME EXACT conditions as me. The only difference is they talked to a different counselor.
This all happened within a 4 day time frame where I’ve come into the shelter everyday CONSECUTIVELY. I live far north so it isn’t an easy quick drive.
Today I spoke to Ginger at the front desk and she was wonderful, empathetic and seemed to really care what I was speaking of. She offered me great understanding and made me realize I was never offered an alternative method of adoption which would’ve allowed me to adopt the kitty I wanted the first day that I wanted her which would’ve avoided ALL of this. What’s done is done but I had a terrible experience because of the person I talked to.
I hope kitty 10777 has found a home with amazing owners.
This man also had the audacity to say to me the volunteers sometimes don’t know what they’re talking about when they were at the front telling him I should be able to adopt the very first day.

Adopted my babies same day I walked into this facility! Thanks to all the kind and hard working animal loving staff members for making this happen for us. I will forever be grateful.

HUGE thank you to Garcia and Gina (we ended up naming our kitty Gina ironically) !! They helped me find my sweet girl who is a perfect addition to my little family and her big kitty brother LOVES her. Also huge shoutout to the medical team my girl is a senior and had lots of medical issues but they have always been kind and patient with all the thousands of questions I ask. I recommend this place to EVERYONE. Thank you APA for my fur baby !!

They were really kind and helpful. They even let us come in after 6p to adopt because we wanted to go visit a different location to check out another cat before we decided for sure. It was a really easy process. The adoption fee was a reasonable $90 and they neuter for free once we bring our kitten back when they’re a little older.
They were really kind to and understanding of my rambunctious 3 little children who were very excited to see the kittens.
It was an overall great experience.

Absolutely love this place! They seem to take great care of these sweet babies and staff is very friendly. Love that they are no kill shelter. And the place is so big!

Just wanted to give a big shoutout to Kayley, Jennifer, Gaby (our adoption counselor), and Cristina (Paprika’s awesome foster). They were all amazing, super quick to respond even after hours, and made the whole process feel smooth and easy. You can tell they really know what they’re doing and genuinely care.

We felt supported every step of the way and their kind, thoughtful communication made a huge difference. These ladies definitely deserve some recognition for the great work they’re doing. Thanks again for helping us bring Paprika home!

Met my lovely and amazing Trex here! She went by Berry Princess but my daughters are big into dinosaurs right now. Sweet little old lady and now she gets to have a home to belong in. That process and the medical follow ups have been good experiences. Would recommend APA! for anyone wanting a cat!

Austin Pets Alive is a wonderful no kill animal shelter. They have several different locations and the staff provides compassionate quality care for pets. I highly recommend them!

Amazing shelter! I adopted my dog from one of their locations and the experience has been great! She was very little and underweight so we had to wait to get her neutered. We just went for her surgery and everything went smoothly. She’s now at her forever home recovering and living the good life.

As always, so impressed with Austin Humane Society! It’s clean, pets are secure and very well cared for. Staff are well-informed, helpful and kind. Carly is a treasure!
The fee was so reasonable, especially because he’s already fixed. The kitten is a delight. Adopt at Humane Society!

The staff is very kind and they gave me all the adoption information. All the cats and dogs are adorable, wish I could take them all home
They accept physical and donations all the time. You can also volunteer, help them and give love to the cuties.

We got our Shelley there a few weeks ago.
Not only was the staff very knowledgeable and helpful of all the animals, the place was clean! And super spacious.

Went to visit some puppies because I am looking to adopt. These puppies were COVERED in feces. Head to toe. It was disgusting. I understand that they poop in their cage and are active enough to get it on themselves, but with the amount of time I was there, they were covered in poop the whole time, no one tried to clean their space or them, but they were being fed and taken out to be walked as if they were not covered in feces.

Thanks to all the workers and sponsors of this wonderful shelter! Today, our family found a best friend ever and companion who makes us happier every minute. Amazing staff, great animal facilities, staff to help make the adoption process easy, plus you get coupons and discounts at local pet stores. Everything is as accessible and understandable as possible. I will definitely be going back there soon for another kitten. Thank you for this incredible work that you guys do every day, you are unbelievably cool!!!

We spayed/neutered several feral cats. The staff is amazing. The cats were delivered in perfect condition, the traps and carriers were given clean and neat. Thanks so much for your hard work and dedication. This is the most affordable place I’ve found to spay/neuter cats in Austin.

We adopted 2 baby kittens from Austin humane society . And we can’t be more blessed to have these two sweet babies . The staff was respectful and supportive. They welcomed us with kindness and led us to these beautiful kittens that were meant to be with us . This was such an amazing experience for me that , if anyone is looking to adopt a cat or dog . Please don’t hesitate visit them . And I guarantee you . You will walk out with a new family member.

Austin Pets Alive is the best volunteer non profit. They do great work helping and placing cats and dogs. I foster their neonatal cats program aka cute kittens!

Beyond amazing and supportive. I’m currently in the process of fostering a kitten and the transition with them has been absolutely amazing. Knowledgeable, kind, they listen to your wants and they work with you and are so patient.

Friendly staff and grateful for the services they provide. People need to visit to help the abandoned pets available to adopt.

This is the lesser known APA! cat location. It’s much smaller than the main one but cats have more space than in the other location. Staff is super friendly and helpful.

Adopt don’t shop! Great spot for a more intimate adoption experience than the larger downtown APA

We had a wonderful cat adoption here. So much so we went home with 4 cats instead of the planned 3. Daisy and Helen were great and helped us through the entire process ❤

They only had dogs for older families, but we’re nice and well organized. Call ahead before you visit 🙂