The Best Austin, TX Dog Rescues & Shelters in 2026

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.

Cuz i Matter Animal Rescue

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.

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: [email protected]

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.

Texas Humane Heroes -- No Kill Animal Adoption Centers

Texas Humane Heroes is a No Kill, private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Leander, Texas. Established in 1979, Texas Humane Heroes enhances the lives of pets and people through adoption, availability of our low-cost spay/neuter and vaccinations as well as family-friendly community events. We are 100% funded by donations, grants, and modest fees for services. Texas Humane Heroes does not receive any local, state, or federal government funding.

Georgetown Animal Outreach

Paws In Your Hands Rescue

At Paws In Your Hands Rescue (PIYHR), we adopt a progressive and thoughtful approach to dog rescue, setting us apart from traditional organizations. We operate without a physical facility, focusing instead on a strategic model that involves securing confirmed adopters before intervening in a dog's shelter life. This preemptive confirmation ensures that every rescue effort we undertake is with a definitive path to a loving, permanent home. Once an adopter is confirmed, we then formally rescue the dog and place them into one of our compassionate foster homes located in Texas. This step often represents the first time these dogs, many of whom were previously strays or confined in shelter environments, experience the warmth and safety of a home setting. By implementing this method, we significantly reduce the stress experienced by the dogs and efficiently manage our resources, allowing for a more focused and personalized care process. Our rescue efforts extend far beyond Massachusetts to Texas, where the need is overwhelming. The state faces one of the highest shelter euthanasia rates in the U.S., compounded by low spay and neuter rates and an overburdened shelter system. Thousands of dogs in Texas roam the streets or languish in overcrowded shelters, desperately needing rescue and a chance at a better life. We focus our efforts on these vulnerable canines, providing them a pathway to forever homes predominantly along the East Coast and in the New England region. Since our inception, Paws In Your Hands Rescue (PIYHR) has grown significantly, not in size but in capability and reach. Our operations remain intentionally small-scale to maintain effectiveness and ensure we never overextend our resources. At the heart of our efforts is our founder, Amala, supported by a dedicated group of volunteers whose profound love for dogs drives our mission. We have forged essential partnerships not only with veterinary providers—who offer us reduced-cost care—but also with overwhelmed rescues and overcrowded shelters. These collaborations have been crucial in extending our reach and impact, allowing us to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome more dogs than ever before. At Paws In Your Hands, we pour extensive care, consideration, and love into every step of our rescues’ journeys. Our commitment to sustainable, impactful rescue work is deeply personal and informed by our founder Amala’s own distressing experience with a supposed reputable rescue. Amala was scammed by a Texas-based rescue that engaged in unethical practices—failing to provide vaccinations, medical care, or honest dealings, and ultimately delivering a severely ill puppy without any medical records. This puppy, only 12 weeks old and suffering from abuse, trauma, inbreeding, and severe lifelong medical issues, including parvo, miraculously survived. This experience has driven us to prioritize transparency and honesty in all our operations. We go above and beyond to ensure no adopter experiences what Amala did. While we strive to provide as much information as possible about our dogs, often their full histories remain unknown. Nonetheless, we are committed to making the adoption process as clear and positive as possible, prioritizing the well-being of each dog and the quality of the adoption experience.

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.

Lil Paws Maltese Rescue and other Petite Paws

Lil' Paws Maltese Rescue is a home-based, non-profit rescue organization made up soley of volunteers. We are dedicated to helping homeless Maltese and other small dog breeds in the Austin area by fostering, providing the best possible health care, and placing them in loving forever homes. Lil' Paws Maltese Rescue and other Petite Paws exists to rescue, rehabilitate, and carefully rehome neglected and homeless Maltese and other small dogs. We are a 501c3 non-profit rescue group run entirely by a small group of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about the welfare of these dogs. What we do We are committed to rescuing Maltese and other small dogs. Lil' Paws spays/neuters every dog we take in, gets them examined by a veterinarian, gets them vaccinated, microchipped, heartworm tested, gives heartworm prevention, dentals, surgeries.....anything it takes to get the dogs healthy and ready to make the transition to their new lives. We take particular care in placing our dogs. Our screening process includes an application, phone interview, personal and veterinary reference checks, and a visit to the potential owner's home to ensure the home and family is compatible with the pet's needs and our requirements. We do not adopt our dogs on a first come, first serve basis. Because we want this to be a permanent adoption, we will place the dog in the home best suited for him/her. How we do it We are run entirely by volunteers. We receive no public funding. Any volunteer you meet, speak to, or correspond with, is giving generously of their time and energy, to keep Lil' Paws going. Our organization is completely dependent on contributions from adopters and donors. We do not have a facility. All of the dogs in our rescue live in the homes of our volunteers until they find their forever home. They are cared for and loved as our own dogs and receive the safety and affection they so deserve while waiting to find their forever homes. This also gives us an opportunity to get to know the dog one on one and give an accurate evaluation and assessment of each dog's personality, therefore enabling us to match the dog to the type of family it needs. Our Commitment We are committed to the well being of every single dog we rescue. We often take dogs that others are unable to because of an injury or medical condition that must be taken care of before the dog is adoptable. We have a lifetime commitment to all of our dogs. Should any unforeseen situations arise with the adoptive family and the dog can no longer be cared for by them, we will always accept them back into our organization. In fact, our adoption contract includes a "return to rescue" provision in which the adopting family must agree to return the dog to us if for any reason they cannot properly care for the dog. We take pride in the level of service and care we give to our dogs and make great effort to ensure their safety and well being for the rest of their lives. Placement of our dogs happens only when the correct match for the dog is found.

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.

Kingdom Rescue

Kingdom Rescue is a foster-based 501(c)3 charitable animal rescue organization run by volunteers and fosters. We utilize Biblical Principles of charity, to "Help His Helpless" through quality care, compassion, and selflessness to bring God's hand of mercy to each family and animal we connect with.

Luling Animal Welfare Society (LAWS)

The Luling Animal Welfare Society (LAWS) is a 501(C)3, Non-Profit Corporation formed to work with the City of Luling Animal Control to benefit lost, seized and abandoned animals within the City of Luling. We conduct active adoption programs and have successfully placed hundreds of Dogs and Cats that would otherwise have been euthanized. LAWS also raised significant funding to build the current Animal Shelter located behind the Police Department.

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.

Lifelong Friends Pet Adoptions

Lifelong Friends Pet Adoption Center is a non-profit 501c(3) organization that meets its operating expenses through donations and adoption fees. We would be delighted if you could make a (tax deductible) donation to our organization so that we can continue to find loving homes for animals that desperately need them.

Throw a Dog a Bone Dog Rescue

Throw a Dog a Bone is an all-breed dog and cat rescue located in Austin, TX. We focus on saving dogs primarily in the rural shelters in South Texas. Many of these shelters have no exposure and very few resources. Our mission is to rescue as many of these dogs as possible and find them loving forever homes. What We Do We find dogs and cats in the rural kill shelters who are at risk for euthanasia and place them in foster homes. When they are ready to find a forever home, we place them up for adoption both locally and out of state. If we find an out of state adopter, we arrange transport. We follow our dogs throughout their transport and into their forever homes. How You Can Help We need volunteers to help us find all of the rural shelters in the state, donate supplies and volunteer in the rural shelters. We also need help transporting dogs, foster homes and veterinary technicians. Of course, we always need donations and help with fundraising as well. Please help us save more pups!

Italian Greyhound Rescue Foundation Texas and Oklahoma

The Italian Greyhound Rescue Foundation (IGRF) is dedicated to helping Italian Greyhounds in need of our care. We have a national network of VOLUNTEERS that make our mission possible. This website caters to Oklahoma and Texas specifically. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and we rely on donations to keep the rescue machine running. As a foster-based Rescue, our volunteers and foster families are the foundation and most important aspect of our ability to do what we do-without foster families we can't take in orphans that need our help. All of our IGs live as members of a family until their forever home comes along. They are all fully vetted and any medical issues are addressed and disclosed to potential adopters. Education about this wonderful and quirky breed is a very important part of what we do as well. This breed IS NOT for everyone. Please ask lots of questions and browse all of our IG-related materials to help decide if an Italian Greyhound is the right dog for you!

Giddings Animal Shelter

The City of Giddings provides a temporary haven for lost, homeless, endangered, or orphaned cats/kittens and dogs/puppies. The shelter is a designated as a 501(c)(3) tax deductible non-profit organization according the US Internal Revenue Service and all donations are tax deductible.

Austin Dog Rescue

Austin Dog Rescue (ADR) has been rescuing and finding homes for homeless dogs since 2006. In the summer of 2007 Austin Dog Rescue applied for and received its 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit status. With our careful placement and commitment to being our dogs' lifelong advocate, we have assisted thousands of homeless dogs throughout Central Texas. We are an all-volunteer organization and have no paid employees. All our dogs are housed and cared for by foster caregivers in a home setting. We focus on rescuing dogs that will fit in to most homes, but we also save dogs that may have medical issues other rescues are unable to help.

Happy Hooves Healing Hearts

Viva Perros

Viva Perros is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that raises money to help homeless and abused dogs get the medical care they need and find good homes. Joe King Carrasco, known for his revved-up Tex-Mex brand of rock n roll, has been a long time supporter and lover of dogs. Viva Perros is his way of taking some of the profits from his music and putting it into the hands of non-profit rescue groups that work relentlessly to improve the lives of dogs around the world. Help us raise money to help homeless dogs get healthcare and homes in memory of Marty. 100% of the money raised by the Tribute shirt goes to help dogs through Viva Perros. Viva Perros raises money to help estabilished Dog Rescue groups around the world continue the hard work they do making lives better for abused, neglected, and homeless dogs. Money is also raised through the sales of Joe King Carrasco's CD, Concierto Para Los Perros, as well as other Viva Perros merchandise and donations. The CD was recorded at Ruta Maya in Austin, TX at the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch benefit concert. Donations from these sales go to a different rescue group determined by the board of directors.

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.

Blue Dog Rescue

Blue Dog Rescue is an all-volunteer, charitable organization that works to find permanent, loving homes for at-risk homeless dogs in the Central Texas area, all the while preparing them for the best possible relationship with you! Most of our dogs come from Central Texas shelters where they might not have a chance at adoption due to size, color, breed, or medical condition. Because we are a network of foster families, there is no shelter facility

Heart of Texas Lab Rescue

The Heart of Texas Lab Rescue is a non-profit 501(c)(3), all-volunteer organization based in Austin, Texas. Our mission is to rescue Labrador Retrievers from shelters, pounds, abandonment , and other situations, and place them in loving, caring homes. The HOT Lab Rescue serves Austin, San Antonio, and surrounding areas. It is HOTLR's policy to accept and place dogs ONLY in the state of Texas. All of our dogs are microchipped, current on shots and heartworm prevention, spayed or neutered at 6 months of age or older, and being treated for heartworms if they are positive. We are always in need of volunteers to foster dogs, and help us with various other activities to help us achieve our goal of finding homes for our dogs.

GALT-Central Texas - Greyhound Adoption League of Texas Inc.

GALT-Central Texas is a chapter of Greyhound Adoption League of Texas Inc., a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We are passionate about Greyhounds and our mission is to find the perfect home for these beautiful, sweet, gentle dogs! We place all dogs in foster homes upon coming into our group. This helps us get to know the dog and their personality before they go to their home. We pride ourselves in helping you pick the perfect dog. While the dogs are at their foster home, they are taken to the veterinarian to get spayed or neutered, all their shots, have their teeth cleaned, and heartworm tested. During this time, they are also evaluated for injuries or health problems. We host Meet & Greets at different pet stores and other locations to show off our greyhounds and to let people know what good pets they make. If you are looking for a good, healthy, wonderful dog as a pet, please consider adopting a greyhound.

Highland Lakes Canine Rescue

Highland Lakes Canine Rescue is a non-profit organization designated as a 501-c(3) with the IRS. We are managed by a volunteer board of directors and operate entirely on private donations and eligible grants. Highland Lakes Canine Rescue was founded in 1999 as Highland Lakes SPCA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, by community members who wanted to rescue homeless dogs in the Central Texas region. HLCR initially started as a “foster only” organization. However, through generous community support, a location was found near Marble Falls, Texas and HLCR became a no-kill dog shelter. Since then HLCR has built a kennel facility, outdoor pens and walking trails, has a staff and resident caretaker, and is blessed with an active and passionate group of volunteers who work tirelessly supporting HLCR and its mission. In 2019, we changed our name from Highland Lakes SPCA to Highland Lakes Canine Rescue to more appropriately reflect our focus and mission.

Saving South Texas

In August of 2022, Kaitlyn was contacted about adopting a dog from Victoria County Animal Services to prevent it from being euthanized. While the dog ended up getting adopted by someone else, a new fire to help the dogs from her hometown was ignited. Kaitlyn brought Allyson into the mix, who had been exploring the idea of a nonprofit to raise funds for animal organizations, and Saving South Texas was born. Shortly after, Allyson and Kara connected by chance on Nextdoor when Allyson was trying to find a home for an urgent dog. Kara was networking San Diego, Texas, dogs with the help of Bridget. The four of them partnered up and expanded their mission to helping animals in all of South Texas. Today, the primary focus of Saving South Texas is to help animals in high-kill shelters in South Texas through rescue partners and transportation to out of state shelters.

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.

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!