Volunteers and rescue partners tell Travis County animal advisory commission Austin Animal Center’s live-outcome rate has fallen; callers urge hiring senior, in

Public commenters, volunteers and Austin Animal Center staff said the shelter’s monthly live-outcome percentage has slipped since April 2025 and urged the Animal Advisory Commission to press city leaders to prioritize experienced leadership.

Heather Myers, a public commenter, told the commission that “since April 2025 when the interim chief took over, AAC has failed month after month to meet the city's 95% live outcome goal. In June, it fell below 90%,” and called for the city to hire “a chief animal officer with proven shelter management experience.”

Julie Oliver, an advocate who cited the No Kill Advocacy Center and the American Humane Society as sources for a 90% benchmark, said the shelter’s year-to-date live-outcome rate was about 93.5% and that June fell below the 90% national standard. She told commissioners she had submitted public information requests for the shelter’s behavior and euthanasia risk assessment matrix and standard operating procedures and said the responses were incomplete or overdue.

Max Oliver, a volunteer, described a case in which volunteers filed multiple veterinary “pink slips” for a dog later transferred to Austin Pets Alive (APA) and said the dog survived only after surgery at APA. “Cutting veterinary care to save money is not just inefficient, it’s inhumane,” he said.

Interim animal services officer Rolando Fernandez and Jason Garza of Animal Services acknowledged the decline but said corrected recordkeeping raised the monthly live-outcome rate to about 94.3% after accounting for animals that arrived dead on arrival (DOA) and had been miscoded. Garza presented monthly intake and outcome statistics for July, including about 1,530 animals in inventory at the start of the month, 767 adoptions, and 66 euthanasias in July, most for medical reasons.

Commissioners and members of the public pressed staff for more detailed month-to-month and year-over-year data, a clearer breakdown of why unassisted deaths occurred, and updates on any operational changes the interim leadership has implemented. Commissioners asked staff to return with a deeper review of the 11 adult cat deaths in July and to clarify differences between animals that die in care, animals euthanized for humane reasons, and animals that were DOA on intake.

Why it matters: The 95% live-outcome target is commonly cited in the city’s no-kill commitments and is a key performance measure for the Austin Animal Center (AAC). Commissioners and community partners said they want transparent, verifiable data and leadership with animal-welfare operations experience to reverse the recent decline in outcomes.

What commissioners said: The commission repeatedly reminded the public that it is advisory; it cannot direct city staff or make hiring decisions but can make recommendations to the mayor, city council and Travis County commissioners. Several commissioners urged public engagement with council members and the mayor’s office as budget and staffing decisions move forward.

Next steps: Staff said they will continue refining data reporting, investigate the July adult-cat deaths and bring follow-up reports and clarifications to the commission in coming meetings. Several public commenters requested the commission ask its appointing councilmembers to act on hiring and funding priorities.