It is an understatement to say that Central Texas has been devastated by fires this week.  At this moment, a fire in Bastrop County (east of Austin) has consumed nearly 30,000 acres and 500 homes, and remains zero percent contained by heroic firefighters from all across the region.  A fire destroyed dozens of homes in the Northwest Austin neighborhood of Steiner Ranch. Multiple fires are reported north of Austin and in Dripping Springs (south of Austin).  It seems like fire is everywhere around us at the moment; there are literally scorched areas all along the highway as close as a … Continue reading »

I’m from the Deep South.  And though it certainly isn’t perfect, I love the Deep South. I love the people; I love the warmth; I love the welcome afforded total strangers.  And although I’ve never lived in Memphis, Tennessee, I have visited and loved it too.  From the Peabody Hotel to Mud Island to Beale Street, Memphis is a city with a soul.  A beautiful, powerful, complex and underappreciated soul. But for all the City of Memphis has going for it, it is no overstatement to say that its animal shelter is and has been a stain on both the … Continue reading »

When I grow up, I want to be like Peggy Jennings. Peggy lived, advocated, and battled cancer with a level of grace that I have never before witnessed and don’t expect to see again.  A co-founder and treasurer of the Austin, Texas, animal-advocacy group FixAustin.org, she died this morning following a three-year battle with cancer. Peggy was a quiet yet irreplaceable part of Austin’s successful, citizen-led movement to save the lives of lost and homeless pets at the City’s municipal animal shelter.  She was a “No Kill” advocate before most people had heard of those words.  A long-time lover of … Continue reading »

On June 19, 2007, a volunteer at a municipal animal shelter in Central Texas stopped by the shelter to take pictures of dogs to help them find homes.  What she found, instead, changed her life.  Filthy, feces-filled cat cages with no signs of food or water. In a box that had apparently not been opened during the three days after it was left at the shelter in 100+ degree heat, the volunteer found the decaying body of a forgotten cat. After speaking up about what she saw, the volunteer was banned from ever entering the shelter again. On February 8, … Continue reading »

The news of Austin, Texas’s transition towards a “No Kill” community has reached far and wide.  As a result, animal lovers from around the country have understandably been contacting the leaders of Austin’s No Kill movement—Austin Pets Alive and FixAustin.org—hoping to learn from our mistakes and successes.  Austin Pets Alive has quickly become the nation’s preeminent model for saving lives from outside an open-admission shelter, and FixAustin.org is the nation’s model for achieving shelter reform through political advocacy.  I am elated by the nation’s interest, and I am very proud to have played a small role in Austin’s No Kill effort through … Continue reading »