Volunteers and commissioners press Austin Animal Center on spike in deaths and behavioral euthanasia notices

Commissioners and volunteers pressed Austin Animal Center leadership on July 14 about an apparent spike in animal deaths and whether behavior staff were consulted before animals received euthanasia notices.

Caitlin Branstetter, an animal enrichment specialist who recently joined Austin Animal Center staff after years as a volunteer, told the commission that several dogs received euthanasia notices on June 9 “with each 1 being labeled a public safety risk.” She said she was concerned that shelter decision-making did not consistently involve paid behavior specialists: “In fact, the first time I saw the behavioral euthanasia risk assessment rating matrix, which had been promised to be made public since 03/06/2024, was last month in a public information request.”

The concern surfaced again during a later public comment by Shelly Liebman, a cat volunteer, who cited AAC’s statistical report showing 66 “unassisted deaths” in June — 54 of them cats and kittens — and noted that represented about 8 percent of total cat intake for that month. “To put this in perspective,” Liebman said, “last June,…