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Steps To Adopt A Pet Cat or Dog
1. Come to the shelter during business hours
2. Fill out a double-sided application form
3. Meet with an Adoption Counselor to discuss your plans and expectations, review and sign our Pet Care Agreement, and have your application approved. You'll need to provide:
- A legal photo ID
- Proof of home ownership or landlord contact information
- Proof that any pets at home have a current rabies vaccination
4. Spend time getting to know some of our homeless pets.
5. Work with an Adoption Counselor to make sure your chosen pet is a good match for your lifestyle and preferences.
6. Arrange for spay or neuter surgery and pick up.
7. Pay for your new pet and take him or her safely home!
Fees
 The fee to adopt a pet is $75 and includes:
- Spay or neuter surgery if the animal is healthy and over 3 lbs.
- All vaccinations the animal is old enough to receive, including a 1-year rabies vaccine
- A HomeAgain microchip
- A one-year Austin Pet Registration
- An adjustable nylon collar
Fees are due at the time the animal is picked up from the shelter.
The shelter accepts cash, checks, and all major credit cards.
Texas law requires that pets adopted from a shelter MUST be spayed or neutered. Animals that cannot be spayed or neutered at the shelter due to age or compromised health will have to be spayed or neutered at the adopters' veterinarian at the adopters' expense by an agreed-upon date. The adopter will need to provide a $50 deposit with the adoption of such an animal, which will be refunded when proof of the spay/neuter is provided to the shelter.
Important Things to Know
We will not adopt out aggressive animals.
All adopted animals will be spayed or neutered.
Although we perform a basic temperament evaluation and a basic physical exam, the health or temperament of adopted animals cannot be guaranteed.
Animals in TLAC Search Site
The Adoption Web site is hosted by Pet Harbor, a not-for-profit website. They takes entries from local animal shelters, SPCA's, Humane Societies, county or city Animal Control Departments, and many private animal-welfare organizations from many areas.
You will be entering their Web site already logged into Town Lake Animal Shelter. When you find an animal you are interested in, click on its picture for more information. At the bottom of that page will be contact information. To broaden the search, take previous steps until you reach the Pet Harbor home page and specify your search area.
There are three queries you can search:
The ALL category shows all the animals that are in the shelter. If an animal is in our adoption program, then they get put into the adoption category and the ALL category. If an animal is considered lost (i.e., it was picked up or dropped off as a stray), then it goes into the lost/found and the ALL category. If an animals is neither lost or available for adoption, then it goes into the ALL category. An example would be an animal that was given up by its owner. Because it's not "lost" and because the adoption program has yet to evaluate it or doesn't want it, it shows up only in the ALL category. A stray animal has at least 72 hours before a determination is made to make it available for adoption, send it to a rescue group, euthanize it, etc. The only exceptions are those animals that are sick or injured and need a quicker remedy. If you want to adopt a stray before its 72 hours are up, you will have to wait to see if the animal gets reclaimed.
When you find an animal you are interested in, the most important piece of information you can retrieve from the Pet Harbor database is the Animal ID (A######). This helps the Shelter staff find it most easily. Kennel numbers can change. TLAC has a dedicated "upload" computer at the shelter that sends new data (photo, animal info.) to Pet Harbor every hour. Once you choose which query you are going to use, you must select at least one criteria to do a search. Using multiple factors will give you a shorter selection.
You can then sort the results by any of the column headings. More information about a specific animal is available when you click on its picture. At this point, you can call us or come down to the shelter to look for the animal. If you are interested, you can e-mail Animal Services or come down to the shelter.
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Town Lake Animal Center takes in over 22,000 stray and unwanted pets each year. Many of these pets are friendly and healthy, but just need another chance in a loving, responsible home. Adopting a pet is a serious, lifetime commitment, but if you think you’re ready to add a new pet to your family, we have lots of great animals looking for homes!