Austin Pets Alive! seeks donations to upgrade hot kennels

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Pets Alive!, a local nonprofit, started a fundraising campaign this week with the hopes of upgrading its facility to provide cooler spaces for its shelter animals.

The building has few air-conditioned spaces, with most of the dogs in an outdoor covered kennel. APA staff have had to rely on box fans, ice and "swamp coolers" to help the canines beat the triple-digit summer heat.

Carolynn Brower, a volunteer with APA, said that the conditions struck her. She had previously volunteered at other similar facilities prior to her first day at APA.

"The first time I went to go volunteer with them, it was extremely hot -- it was about over 100 degrees in the summer weather, and the conditions of this shelter was just so appalling to me," Brower said.

She started a petition on Change.org soon after, which currently has 172 signatures. Brower also said she has discussed the problem with state and city officials. However, she's not received any promises for aid.

"[Officials] basically said they acknowledge that this is an issue and this is a problem, but they have other kind of issues that are more prominent in their minds," Brower said. "My solution would be just to find large donors or companies to hear about this cause. Austin is such an innovative city, getting so many like large corporations moving to the city. Well, what are you guys doing? Where's your philanthropy?"

APA CEO Ellen Jefferson said that the nonprofit didn't plan on major upgrades to the 75-year-old facility.

"It is in in disrepair. It's been an issue for a long time," Jefferson said. "We have been restricted to not be able to do any significant repairs to the facility, because the long term plan is to tear it down, and so we have not been able to upgrade a lot of it."

The short-term fixes of fans and ice have helped to reduce the temperature by about 20 degrees, Jefferson said. The outdoor play area can't be cooled, however. And long, enriching walks? Also off the menu for summer.

"The dogs don't want to be confined on the inside of their little kennel suite...it's a constraint," she said. "The hotter it is in the middle of the day, it makes it pretty hard to give them enrichment like we want."

The city has authorized APA to make emergency repairs to the property; however, the cost for repairs to the facility's structure, drainage and climate control have yet to be estimated. Jefferson said that the nonprofit is exploring options to bring to the city for approval.

"We would be 100% responsible for those improvements. So we would need funding support above and beyond our normal operations, absolutely," she said. "We know it's going to be costly. There's no doubt."

Currently, a "group of anonymous donors" to APA has offered to match donations of up to $28,000. As always, Jefferson notes the shelter's need for continued adoptions and fostering.

"What we're looking for is just extra support from our community to foster dogs short term, to come and adopt if people are in the market for adoption. This is a great time to do it, because getting them out of the kennel is a win-win for everybody," she said. "When it's over 100 degrees or even over 95 degrees, the dogs are confined for a long time and it's hard on them mentally and physically. Anything we can do to get them out of the kennels and into foster homes or adoptive homes is really important."