In addition to daily rescue operations and animal care, PAWS of Austin developed many programs to benefit the community and to better the lives of domestic animals. In many occasions we combine forces with national organization for a bigger impact. We assist municipalities and law enforcement, as well as many shelters and smaller rescue organizations in Texas and other parts of the country.

Below is a list of a few of our programs:
Adoptions
Our organization rescues dogs (mostly Great Danes) from various situations. Most of the dogs we get come from kill-shelters. Shelters from all over Texas and across the country contact us whenever they get a Great Dane at their facility. They know that we take ANY Dane, any condition, any age, as long as it is not aggressive. Some dogs come to us from owners who have to give them up due to personal reasons, such as a divorce, moving, having a new baby or simply because they can no longer afford taking care of the dog. Another reason we get so many Great Danes is due to the fact that we are near a military base and when soldiers get deployed or get re-stationed, we end up with their dogs. Regardless of the reason, we are always here to take in the dog that need our help.

Once we get a dog in, we do a behavior evaluation to determine what kind of home the dog will need. All dogs get vaccinated, spayed/neutered and microchipped. After vet care has been provided, the dog goes to a foster home where it stays until we can find it a new loving home.

Finding a dog a new home is a very involved process which take many hours of work. We do not do on-site adoptions because we screen all potential adopters first. All dogs get posted on our adoption page and adopters are encouraged to fill out our adoption application. The applications we receive get reviewed to make sure we match the dog with the right home. We check vet references, do home visits and interview the family, to make sure the dog is a good match for them. Our goal is to make sure that this will be the absolute best home for the dog with a family that will take care and love the dog for the rest of its life.

As you can see our adoption program is pretty involved. There are many people who take part in this process; our transport volunteers, donors who help us whenever we have a dog that need expensive treatment or surgery, and of course, our foster families. We could not do this without all their help.

Since 2003 PAWS of Austin has found homes for over 1,200 dogs, and a few cats. You can see some of these dogs on our Happy Tails page or watch our Happy Tails video.

Pet Therapy
PAWS of Austin participates in many Pet Therapy programs. We have two therapy dogs that we take to schools, nursing homes and hospitals. It is an amazing program that does not only help patients, but also their families as well as the staff.


Kenya, our senior therapy dog, is registered with the DELTA Society. She is awesome in this kind of work. In fact, in 2009 Kenya was given the American Red Cross Animal Hero of the Year Award for all her wonderful work.



Education
PAWS concentrates on promoting public awareness regarding animal welfare issues, pet health care, disaster preparedness, and most importantly, the necessity of spaying and neutering. We visit local schools, churches, and civic organizations in an effort to educate the public about what they can do to help the nationwide epidemic of pet overpopulation.

PAWS participates in many public events to try and reach people and make them aware of what they can do to help save animals. Being a Great Dane rescue, we share information about the breed, its background and special needs. We provide information on free and low-cost spay/neuter clinics. We provide training solutions to pet owners whose dogs have behavior issues. We emphasize the importance of training and socialization and we do our best to encourage new pet owners to do extensive research on dog breeds before they acquire a new dog.

PAWS volunteers also goes to schools to talk to kids about pet ownership, volunteering and of course, bite prevention. When we go to schools we take our therapy dogs Kenya and Teddy. Kids love our therapy dogs who always leave long lasting positive impression.



Pets Across USA
In 2007 PAWS started a new rescue program called Pets Across USA. The first step was to purchase a bus which was converted into a large rescue vehicle. The bus was fitted with 15 large cages, a bed and many compartments to store our pet supplies. We named our bus BARB, Big Animal Rescue Bus. We then partnered with shelters and rescue organizations across the country in an effort to rescue dogs from kill shelters and transport them to rescue organizations and no-kill shelters. Our rescue bus is also used during disaster response and animal cruelty seizures.


If you would like to see how this program works, watch our documentary "Dogs on the Run"". This documentary film is intended to educate the nation about the pet overpopulation crisis. The film reflects on the work of dedicated volunteers who work together to make a difference. You'll see what animal rescue is all about; our work, frustrations, conflicts and happy endings. http://dogsontherunmovie.com/




In addition to driving dogs across country, we also flown dogs to other rescue organizations who agreed to take dogs that otherwise would have been euthanized. One such special organization is Rescue INK in NY.
Military Dogs

Being so close to a military base, we often get calls from soldiers wanting to surrender their dog because they are being deployed. In many of these cases, the wife is left behind to take care of the home and children, and she does not have the time to properly care for the family dog. In other cases, the families get relocated either to a new base, or occasionally overseas, and are not able to take their dogs with them. This is when we get called to help. We take the dogs in and place them in a foster home; make sure they are spayed/neutered and vaccinated and then find them new loving families.

Although we take dogs from military families, we do not condone the action of giving up a family pet. We understand that these are special circumstances, but we believe that pet ownership should be a life-time commitment. Owning a pet should not be a temporary arrangement. Please do not get a pet, unless you can keep it for the duration of its life.


Disaster Response
One of PAWS missions is to help with disaster response. We have trained volunteers who deploy to disaster areas to help with Search Rescue and Recovery. We work with many national rescue organizations, such as EARS, American Humane, ASPCA, and PetSmart Charities.



Our disaster response work includes pet evacuation, transporting equipment and supply, setting up temporary shelters for animals, trapping animals, handling animals in distress, providing food and water for animals and of course, pet-owner reunions.



Since 2005 PAWS volunteers responded to many natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, hurricane Rita and hurricane Ike. We also assisted with many puppy mill seizures that took place all over the country, including the largest dog fighting raid of over 500 Pitt Bulls.



Cruelty Prevention
One of the most important programs we have is prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The first step is to educate people about responsible pet ownership and how to better care for their animals, because the #1 reason for neglect is lack of knowledge and ignorance. So we take the time to educate.

For those who cannot care for their animals due to lack of resources, we offer assistance by providing free pet food, crates or even funds for veterinary care, such as spay/neuters. In some cases, we may suggest that they will surrender their pets to a humane organization. Last, we do our best to remove animals from abusive situations and we seek punishment for those who inflict pain and suffering on the animals. We do that by supporting legislative work that creates laws and ordinances that protect animals. We also put pressure on laws enforcement and governmental entities, so they will prosecute the abusers.

When law enforcements remove animals from abusive situations, we go to help provide care for the animals while the case is being investigated. Once the animals are seized, we help with finding them new loving homes.

In the past three years with assisted with numerous hording and puppy mill seizures. We went to Maine, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, not to forget the two big puppy mill seizures in North Texas. We also sent volunteers to help with the biggest fighting dog bust of over 500 Pit Bulls that were taken to St. Louis MO.

To report animal cruelty, call 3-1-1