AUSTIN, Texas — One mother-daughter duo who is passionate about dog rescue is Ames Schroeder and her daughter, Josie.
They just adopted their fifth rescue dog and are hoping to lessen the strain on shelters like the Austin Animal Center.
"Just hearing them barking from the back over there just breaks our hearts. We want to take them all. That's why we always rescue," Schroeder said.
Since the pandemic, Austin Animal Center's Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland has seen the world of animal welfare drastically change.
The facility is struggling with space issues. While cat adoptions are up, people are not adopting medium and large-sized dogs nearly at the rate they used to.
"We've been in a state of overcapacity for quite a while now, and yesterday, there was a seizure that brought 20 additional dogs for us," Bland said.
Bland believes there are a lot of reasons why this is happening, pointing to skyrocketing costs of pet care and food.
"We know that a lot of the rental units have weight restrictions of 30 pounds or less, so that takes plenty of medium and large sized dogs out," Bland said. "We know that, normally, you pay rent, you pay a pet deposit, now a lot of people are charging monthly pet rent, I heard someone say they pay $200 per month additionally for their animal."
With nowhere to place all the incoming dogs, Austin Animal Center is asking the community to foster a dog for at least a month to help with the strain.
Bland also said one thing pet owners can do to help with the overcapacity problems is to spay and neuter their pets, as well as microchipping them.
For Schroeder and her daughter, giving and receiving love from dogs in need is worth it since they are doing their part to keep the ongoing, long-lasting friendship between humans and canines.
Anyone interested in fostering can apply here.