Sep 06, 2024

Beginning September 5th, 2024, all clinic operations and functions in Building C will be temporarily relocated to our Davenport building.

A special note for fosters: Please continue to follow the same procedures for medical emergencies, appointments or medication pick-up. We apologize for any inconveniences you may encounter during this transition and assure you that we are doing everything we can to make these changes as seamless as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why is the clinic having to relocate?

We were made aware of some immediate repairs needed in our clinic facility. We consulted with several remediation companies to assess the situation, and while this spot doesn’t appear to be big, we are taking it seriously and allowing professionals to determine the extent of the issue as we take immediate steps to relocate our staff and animals. This means that our plans to move out of the clinic in November will now include a little pit stop on our way to the APA! Shelter Pet Hospital in Sunset Valley.

Where or what is the Davenport building?

Davenport is the building in front of the campus (photo attached). It is in the same parking lot as the clinic. It is just the main building you see when you first drive up with the big glass doors—building “A”.

How are you ensuring the safety of your employees, volunteers, and animals?

We are communicating with our staff and volunteers to ensure everyone is safe and cared for. Those working in the clinic will be given up-to-date information on the next steps for their relocation and animal care protocols.

We are also working quickly to find medical foster homes, including those in FeLV+, Maternity Ward, and Calici. In the next few days, we will provide our fosters with additional details relevant to our operations and customer service.

What is the long-term plan to fix Town Lake Animal Center?

As you may know, APA! has already been in the process of moving its primary clinic operations to the new APA! Shelter Pet Hospital in Sunset Valley. Due to some delays with a new transformer from Austin Energy, the hospital is slated to open in November 2024.

Why can’t you repair the Town Lake Animal Center or build new buildings?

We do our best to upkeep Town Lake Animal Center. We spend about $225,000 a year on maintenance, but we are also severely limited by the City of Austin and Austin Energy on the repairs we can make. Until a few weeks ago, we could not perform any repairs or upgrades that required a permit due to major power lines and water mains running through the property. We were forced to either completely demolish and rebuild the facility or leave, no in between. The city recently granted us permission to perform necessary repairs under an emergency clause.

While the city of Austin does not charge Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) “rent” for operating out of TLAC, the cost of caring for pets from AAC under the current lease agreement is about $2M a year. This is based on 1,800 animals a year or over $160,000 a month solely for animals transferred from AAC. (Based on 150 healthy animals a month, at $35 a day).

That cost is for a regular, healthy animal that does not need any medical care, behavior support, or additional medications. A significant portion of the animals transferred to APA! from AAC have medical, behavioral, or other needs like Parvo, ringworm, nursing needs, neonates, or severe injuries like being hit by a car, drastically increasing the cost of care.

Can’t you use donated dollars to rebuild the shelter?

Caring for over 11,000 animals a year is a significant effort. We do our best to ensure that we are the best stewards of donations to help care for our animals. We are a 99% Four-Star charity and a Platinum Transparency 2024 awardee by Candid for our transparency and use of funds.

As of FY22, our program costs to provide our services are about 75% of our overall expenses, and only 19.3% of our expenses are administrative. This means that a majority of donated dollars go directly to programs and services to save the lives of at-risk animals.

We also do more beyond our shelter walls and what most shelters and animal welfare organizations in the country do. As a nonprofit animal welfare organization, we lead the country with our Neonatal Kitten Nursery, Puppy Parvo ICU, Ringworm Adoption Center, Feline Leukemia Adoption Program, Barn Cat Program, Dog Behavior Programs, our Positive Alternatives To Shelter Surrender program, and one of the largest cat and dog foster programs in the nation. We also work to share our best practices with other shelters in the county, including AAC, to help our entire industry move forward.

As a private nonprofit organization, we do not get city funding for our efforts as we are not a city shelter. Our mission and goal is to eliminate the killing of companion animals in shelters, and we ensure donations go to those efforts.

Please contact us if you have any further questions.

Source: Austin Pets Alive