Austin Animal Center creates monthly "rescue placement list," sets 5-business-day commitment window for rescues

Interim Austin Animal Center Chief Rolando Fernandez and Program Manager Rebecca Monty told the Austin Animal Advisory Commission on Sept. 8 that the shelter will publish a new monthly Rescue Placement List (RPL) by the fifth business day of each month and will follow that with a five-business-day commitment period for qualified rescue partners to evaluate and commit to dogs on the list.

Commissioners and dozens of rescue volunteers and officials said the change aims to increase transparency and consistency in notifying rescue partners about dogs the shelter believes pose a public-safety risk or have significant behavioral concerns. Under the new timeline, if no viable rescue option is confirmed during the commitment period, the shelter will issue the 48-hour euthanasia notice required by city code (referred to in the meeting as "Code 3-1-26").

The commission heard presentations and public comment from several Austin Pets Alive leaders and volunteers who said the new process did not make clear whether rescue partners retain the previous 10-day evaluation window they had been using. Claire Callison, senior director of operations at Austin Pets Alive, told the commission that APA typically assumes about 17% of the animals AAC takes in and that many of those animals require extended medical or behavioral care. Chelsea Reisman, dog behavior director at Austin Pets Alive, said her team needs predictable access and time to evaluate dogs and warned that a compressed or unclear timeline could increase euthanasia of dogs that could be rehabilitated and placed.

Rebecca Monty described how the RPL will differ from the already-published Urgent Placement List (UPL). She said the UPL will remain a regularly updated library on the ASO website and will be distributed weekly; it documents dogs with behavior concerns, bite…