The Best Austin, TX Dog Rescues & Shelters in 2025

Austin Pets Alive!

Austin Pets Alive! is a unique 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal shelter pioneering comprehensive, innovative programs designed to save the animals most at risk for euthanasia. We provide public adoption services for companion animals which includes lifetime behavior support, as well as community support in re-homing or obtaining resources for companion animals through our Human and Animal Support Services program.

Austin Animal Center

Austin Animal Center is the municipal shelter for the City of Austin and unincorporated Travis County, providing shelter to thousands of animals annually as well as providing animal protection and pet resource services. We accept stray and owned animals regardless of age, health, species or breed. Our goal is to place all adoptable animals in forever homes through adoption, foster care, or rescue partner groups. Animal Services has numerous programs and partnerships designed to help pets in the shelter, in the community, and in your home.

Austin Bulldog Rescue

ABR is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and re-homing of unwanted English Bulldogs, education of owners on responsible dog ownership, and education of the public on the English Bulldog breed. ABR takes in adoptable English Bulldogs from animal shelters, other rescue groups, and owners who can no longer properly care for their English Bulldogs. We provide for their medical and behavioral needs. Considering the Bulldog's background and your family's needs, we intend to make the best match. Every Rescue Bulldog is different: personality, temperament, energy, comfort with kids and other animals, medical needs, and more. We take all of these factors into consideration when making a furever-home match. We take our responsibility of finding forever homes for Rescue Bulldogs very seriously. All our rescued dogs live with families in foster homes in Austin, Texas. We often operate statewide and occasionally take in dogs from other areas of Texas, but we primarily service the Austin/NW San Antonio area. We do not run a shelter that you can visit.

South Texas Boston Terrier Rescue

STBTR was born in July of 2016 with a vision and as an additional resource for Boston Terriers, and other brachycephalic breeds, that need rehabilitation, rehoming, medical treatment, and any other TLC including hospice care, in the Houston and greater Gulf Coast areas of Texas. We have expanded outreach to dogs in Austin, San Antonio, Laredo, Del Rio and other areas with the help of a volunteer base that now stretches state wide and into south Louisiana. We are strictly a foster based rescue – we have no facility. All of our dogs are housed in foster homes for vet treatment and evaluation.

Wimberley Adoption Group & Rescue

We are located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, an hour southwest of Austin. WAG Rescue is a volunteer-supported, non-profit 501 (c) (3) public charity for dog rescue and adoption with a Refuge and Adoption Center in Driftwood and a network of foster families. We have rescued and adopted out over 2,000 dogs and puppies since our inception in June 2009 and returned countless animals to their owners. Currently, we have a single-family structure on our 6-acre refuge property with covered, outdoor kennels to house our dogs that are not in foster care. Additionally, we have two separate small structures consisting of a Nursery and Healing House. WAG Rescue sincerely thanks all of our donors, volunteers, and adopters for their continued support and tireless efforts as our community grows

Central Texas SPCA

Central Texas SPCA is a small non-profit adoption center. We are not a public drop off and do not accept stray animals or owner surrenders. We rescue dogs and cats at risk of euthanasia by pulling them into our shelter from high kill shelters. We provide them with a unique home-like shelter with spacious indoor condos for the cats, size-appropriate crates for the dogs, as well as outdoor kennels and off-leash play areas for the dogs. For over 35 years, we’ve been dedicated to personalized, force-free, 1:1 care and attention of each and every one of our rescued animals to ensure they are healthy, and well-adjusted before their adoption. Our adoption process is informative and pleasant with a friendly staff. The Central Texas SPCA was the first no-kill shelter in Williamson County when it opened in 1988. We are a private, independent organization relying solely on private donations, grants, adoption fees and fundraisers to save hundreds of homeless pets annually. Throughout our 33 years, we’ve never wavered from our commitment to provide quality, compassionate care to homeless dogs and cats for however long they need us. Our primary sources of animal intake are small, rural shelters in the Central Texas area where animals are at risk of euthanasia due to high intake numbers and low adoptions. We led the way in our area many years ago in the movement to provide home-like spaces for the animals. The cats have large condos with cat towers, climbing shelves, room to run and a space for human visitors to sit down. Most condos have natural light from windows to the shelter grounds. The dogs we rescue enjoy large outdoor play runs on our two-acre property. Runs have shade and splash pools during hot weather. All are large enough for volunteers to enter for a game of tug or fetch. Dogs are off-leash most of the day and often are paired with other dogs for exercise and companionship. During the night and on inclement weather days, they are in their size appropriate crates inside and are walked on our tree-shaded grounds multiple times a day. Every animal is spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before adoption. We also provide age-appropriate vaccines, species-specific testing, heartworm prevention and any special veterinary care needed through our local vet partners. Because of our 1:1 care, we know each animal’s personality and needs, which allows us to make matches that align with our Forever Family goal. All adopters are carefully screened to ensure the greatest likelihood of success with each adoption. Since 1988, we’ve rescued and found loving homes for more than 7000 dogs and cats.

Love And Puppy Paws Dog Rescue

LAPP Dog Rescue's Goals Rescue abandoned, abused, unwanted, stray, and neglected dogs from the streets and homes in South and Central Texas. Provide educational outreach to South and Central Texas communities regarding spay and neuter, heartworm prevention, and microchipping. Decrease the number of dogs picked up off the streets and surrendered to overpopulated animal control facilities to reduce euthanasia due to space restraints, behavioral issues, and/or medical issues.

Pflugerville Pets Alive!

Pflugerville Pets Alive! (PPA!) is a 501(c) 3 (nonprofit) organization run exclusively by volunteers. We are currently focused on helping the homeless pets of Pflugerville to be healthy and find safe and happy homes, establishing programs that benefit the pets in the Pflugerville Animal Shelter, and informing the community of Pflugerville that they can find their next pet with Pflugerville Pets Alive! While our primary goal is Pflugerville, we are able help within 50 miles of the city; anything outside that area will require special permission.

Small Chance Rescue

PAWS Shelter of Central Texas

PAWS Shelter of Central Texas (PAWS) was founded in Kyle, Texas in 1986 as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization providing care and love to homeless, abandoned, and abused animals in Central Texas. We are a no-kill shelter that believes in second chances! At PAWS, companion animals are given medical attention, care, and love for however long it takes for us to find them a loving home. While the challenges are great, with the help of your donations and grants, we make a difference in how our four legged friends are treated and, ultimately, make the world a more humane place for all. PAWS embraces the animals we care for today and plans for those we will care for in the future. We are grateful to all those who help and are part of the solution as we move forward with our mission. What We Do PAWS is relentless in our effort to save lives and change lives. Our efforts in that regard include: • Rescuing animals from municipal shelters as well as offering owner surrender services. • Ensuring each animal in our care receives all necessary veterinary care. • Providing spay or neuter surgeries to our adoptable animals to do our part to resolve the pet overpopulation crisis. • Providing a lifelong commitment to our adoptable pets to ensure they always have a safe place to call home. • Temperament testing before adoption, allowing for better placement of pets into a new home. • Placing an emphasis on enrichment activities for animals while in our care. • Providing behavior assistance to all newly adopted pets. • Visiting local community groups and schools to educate our community on responsible pet ownership. • Holding offsite adoption events to get our pets the exposure they deserve to help get them adopted.

Paws in Prison

Paws in Prison educates female inmates for greater responsibility and empathy through the rescue and training of shelter dogs to be adopted by the public. The women who participate in the Paws in Prison program are given an opportunity to earn certifications that could benefit them for job opportunities after prison release. OUR HISTORY. Over the years this unique program has grown, serving Lockhart, Seguin, San Antonio, Austin, and the surrounding Texas communities. In December 2007, Paws in Prison was established by founder Machellle Gaconnet to become the first women's only dog training program in Texas prison! Machelle saw how these programs had such a positive impact in various men’s prisons and was offered an opportunity to run one for women only at the correctional facility in Lockhart. In 2014 the program lost its funding through the contracted prison management group. As a result, Friends of Paws in Prison was established to financially support PIP. WHAT WE DO. We provide a unique training program designed to rehabilitate prison inmates through the dogs we rescue from our local shelters. Paws in Prison pairs rescue dogs from rural kill shelters with female inmates who learn to care for and train the dogs, through positive reinforcement techniques. Those dogs are then adopted by the general public. Since its inception, over 500 dogs have been placed into forever homes and thousands of women have been rehabilitated! We offer inmates the opportunity to learn the life skills of patience, responsibility, accountability, teamwork and compassion that they can take with them outside the prison walls as better wives, mothers, daughters, employees and neighbors. We provide inmates with the opportunity to learn skills within the animal care industry, and training certifications that can help them obtain jobs in their communities upon release. We believe in second chances, and have seen that compassion change the course of a life. We believe that by helping to heal another, an individual allows their own healing to begin. We believe that when you help someone else you make your own life better. We believe that with unconditional love, anything is possible.

Lizzy’s Animal Hospice

Charlyne's Pound Puppies

Charlyne's Pound Puppies is a non-profit rescue group run by volunteers. Our founder, Charlyne McDaniel, began her crusade to help abandoned dogs and cats in 1995. Charlyne's Pound Puppies does not accept owner surrenders. Our commitment is to the animals in the Thorndale, TX pound and those who may have been abandoned at vet clinics or the surrounding countryside. All our dogs and cats must be spayed or neutered. We provide these animals with love, medical care, and foster homes until we can find them adoptive families.

Legacy Doberman Rescue

Legacy Doberman Rescue is an all-volunteer non-profit organization for the rescue of purebred Dobermans in Texas. Who is Legacy Doberman Rescue? LDR is four women spread out across three states and a small but mighty band of foster homes. We are not powerball millionaires. In our first six months we took in 24 dogs, including two litters of abandoned puppies. We have rehabilitated and placed 20 Dobermans so far! (We also had a board member finish her Dobermans Championsip, another put 23 titles on her two Dobermans and we had two human grand babies). We all work full time. Our rescue work is unpaid and expenses consistently exceed our adoption fee. We rely on foster homes and your donations to make this rescue succeed and save homeless Dobermans. We are asked almost every day to take on a new Doberman. We encourage you to foster a dog, make a monthly donation to LDR and participate in our ebay auctions. Every little bit makes a huge difference to the Dobermans who get to live fulfilling and rewarding lives with their new families.

Rescue PAC

Wags, Hope and Healing

365 Pet Connection

365 Pet Connection - a unique concept in animal welfare. The rewards of animal rescue drive us to find new ways to save as many deserving lives as we possibly can 365 days a year. After years of active hands-on animal rescue, we have accumulated a vast network of animal resources which we have molded together to form 365 Pet Connection. 365 Pet Connection is a Tax Exempt All-Volunteer Non-Profit Group and our EIN# 46-4747911. As such, all monetary donations and adoption fees are tax-deductible.

Rogues Rescue Ranch

After living in Houston our entire lives and being involved in animal rescue for the past several years, we have seen first hand how in-need big cities are of animal rescuers. This is why we continue to work on creating a program that can focus its efforts on education and outreach into the animal loving community.

San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter

The Adoption Center is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from noon to 7 p.m, and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. It is closed Wednesday and Sunday for deep cleaning and animal enrichment. The Intake/Reclaim office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m to 6 p.m. Those dropping off stray animals, owner surrenders, and owner reclaims are encouraged to call or email to make an appointment. If you found a stray dog or cat, please call 512-805-2655 for resources to help get the pet back home, or check our Lost/Found list.

Cuz i Matter Animal Rescue

Haven Animal Rescue of Texas

Haven Animal Rescue of Texas is a non-profit organization formed to prevent cruelty to animals by rescuing abandoned or homeless animals and subsidizing spaying and neutering as well as further vetting. We strive to help people obtain further education to provide the proper care for their pets and offer assistance to those needing a helping hand. Our goal is to help people find ways to properly care for and keep their pets even if they’ve fallen on hard times. Helping families find their perfect furry family member and dogs find their forever homes is our main goal for the abandoned, homeless, and neglected animals we save.

Lockhart Animal Shelter

Lockhart Animal Shelter staffers and volunteers will still be on-site even though the facility is closed to the public. These days will be used for deep cleaning and facility maintenance, along with the day-to-day care for shelter pets; including, but not limited to, feeding, watering, and exercising for dogs. The following services will also remain available even while the shelter is closed to the public: • Pet transports • Pet reclaims by appointment • Working with animal rescue groups for new homes The Lockhart Animal Shelter is located at 547 Old McMahan Road. Turn on Hwy 20 East off Hwy 183 (towards Bastrop), go exactly one mile and turn right on Old McMahan Road. The shelter is 1/2 of a mile on the right. Contact the Shelter at 512-398-4401; ext. 2 or email: lockhartanimalservices@lockhart-tx.org

A.D.O.P.T. - American Dog Owners for Proper Training

Acres of Love Animal Rescue

Our rescue is located in Southeastern Blanco County, Texas, where unclaimed pets from Blanco County Lost and Found Pets' Facebook page are housed and cared for until a new, forever home and family can be located. This is only after all resources have been exhausted to locate the owner. Acres of Love Animal Rescue is a no-kill rescue, which means no pet is killed due to lack of space. Many of our pets come here without ever having exposure to human companionship and care. With time, love and positive guidance, our pets are able to develop trusting, bonding relationships with people and live happy lives in forever homes. Community programs, workshops, and clinics are a few of the resources available to have area pets spayed, neutered, microchipped, and vetted as necessary for the well-being of every pet and pet owner. Please check out available programs and see how we may help you and your pet(s) stay together. The adoptable pets you see are loving, fully vetted sweethearts that are currently seeking their forever homes. Please adopt from a shelter or rescue and you will be saving multiple lives by adopting just one pet!

Operation Barking Squirrel

OPERATION BARKING SQUIRREL is a Texas registered nonprofit that is seeking to fill the gaps in dog and cat rescue. We believe that all pets in rescue deserve a home of their own and we want to make that happen. We all see the pets that have been surrendered or dumped in Texas due to age, breed and no microchip to get them back to their parent, and, sometimes, no transportation to get them home.

Austin Humane Society

The longest-standing no-kill, non-profit pet and adoption center in Austin We’re dedicated to saving Austin’s homeless cats and dogs, educating our community about responsible pet ownership, and reducing pet overpopulation. Serving our community since 1952, the Austin Humane Society (AHS) is the longest standing no-kill shelter in Austin. AHS transforms the lives of animals and the people who love them through life-saving programs that find animals homes, serve animals and people in times of crisis, prevent future homelessness through spay and neuter, and engage the community to be a part of the solution. Over the past year, AHS has unleashed hope for over 11,000 animals thanks to the generosity of our donors.

Austin Boxer Rescue

Central Texas Little Dog Rescue

Central Texas Little Dog Rescue was started to help fill a void in the North Austin/Round Rock community. Our founder started the rescue after volunteering with a local shelter and a few different rescues for the past 9 years. She decided to start her own rescue to better serve the smallest pets out there. Little dogs need someone who understands their specific issues and health needs. Our focus will be on pets that are less that 25 pounds. We will make exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Love-a-Bull

LOVE-A-BULL, Inc. is an outgrowth of the former Austin American Pit Bull Terrier Meetup Group, which was formed in 2003. This social meetup group for owners and dogs to connect and form a community evolved into a group of people who wanted to see change. Since that time, organizers recognized that the political climate warranted the need for change. As a result, LOVE-A-BULL org achieved 501(c)(3) status in 2008 so that the group could more fully attain its mission and goals. LOVE-A-BULL was organized to educate and advocate on behalf of the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (all breeds commonly referred to as pit bulls) and pit bull mixes. The message we try to spread is that they are dogs, just like any other dog, they just happened to be called pit bulls. Our mission is to promote responsible guardianship and improve the image and lives of pit bull-type dogs through community support, education, advocacy, and rescue. In 2020, we saved a record 200 pit bull-type dog lives more than quadruple the amount as in the previous year. In our history as an organization, we have supported the community through spay/neuter and vaccination clinics, providing resources on Austin, TX pit bull-friendly housing, financial assistance, and low-cost training. We have also provided active advocacy against breed discriminatory legislation and started one of the country's first all pit bull-type dog therapy programs. We currently maintain a foster-based rescue program and work daily to promote a more positive and accurate public image of all pit bull-type dogs through various local outreach and social media efforts. LOVE-A-BULL regularly hosts fun activities, but its main goal is to promote advocacy and education. Our group is comprised of members who live in Austin and the surrounding areas, as well as national members who wish to support our mission. We welcome the support of proud pit bull parents and others interested in supporting the above ideals and those who will work to further our goals.

Caldwell County Animal Coalition

Caldwell County Animal Coalition, CCAC, is a 501C3. Our purpose is to advocate and educate for animal welfare in Caldwell County. CCAC’s goals include hosting and promoting educational workshops and low-cost/no-cost clinics to help citizens be better stewards towards their animals.