Lauren Eby and her husband moved with their three dogs from Fort Worth in May and were settling into their new home in San Antonio when she heard the news.
San Antonio Pets Alive (SAPA), a nonprofit that operates a transitional rescue center at the city’s Animal Care Services (ACS) facility on State Highway 151, needed foster homes urgently.
SAPA often appeals for volunteers who can care for a dog or cat temporarily to relieve overcrowded shelters and until a permanent adoption can be arranged.
But when the agency’s air conditioning went on the blink Sunday, sending temps in the kennel into the 90s, the need for fosters became critical.
On Monday, Eby picked up a pitbull mix and her two puppies, two other puppies, and later a 3-week-old Chihuahua, from the nonprofit’s medical care center at 9107 Marbach Rd.
“I knew that we’ve enjoyed fostering in the past, but having just moved here we were planning to get settled first,” said Eby, who is stationed in San Antonio with the U.S. Army. “But when I saw that the A/C went out, there was such a desperate need. There was no reason to say no. We have the space here, we have the time.”
The clock is ticking for SAPA and ACS, and the animals in their care, at a time when summer temperatures can make the indoors uncomfortable and possibly dangerous.
The malfunctioning air conditioner at SAPA has only made what is already a challenging time even worse.
There is an urgent need for fosters and adoptions every single day, said Lisa Norwood, the city-run shelter’s spokeswoman.
“I think what people don’t understand is … the warmer months of the year are essentially high season for animal shelters not just in San Antonio, but in the south,” where temperate climates lead to breeding year round, Norwood said.
“This is the time of the year when we have a lot more crowding in the local shelters,” she added. “Everybody has full kennels right now. This is a time of year when we need help more than ever.”
Overcrowding forces ACS to publish a daily “urgent list,” showing which animals could be euthanized if not adopted. Local rescue groups like SAPA often step in and rescue as many animals as they can.
This week’s air conditioning crisis pushed SAPA to its limits.
“It’s just like chess every day,” said Alison Macklin, development manager at SAPA, referring to how the rescue staff moves animals among shelters and foster homes in order to constantly make room for more.
There are 15 puppy kennels in the transitional center at ACS. With those out of commission until city workers installed a temporary cooling system and generator, SAPA’s rescue teams had to scramble to find a safe place for the puppies in their care.
That was a “devastating” blow to SAPA, Macklin said. “Because every single day there are moms and pups on the euthanasia list — it’s nonstop — so just not having that space is really detrimental.”
The group’s emergency call for fosters was answered on Monday morning when most of the puppies and about 40 of the shelter’s 50 large dogs were picked up, said Stephanie Paz Perez, marketing and public relations manager at SAPA.
On Wednesday, a dozen puppies were flown to a shelter for adoption in Delaware.
Meanwhile, work is underway to replace the air conditioning in the city-owned SAPA center, Norwood said.
The system that stopped cooling efficiently was set to be replaced as part of a regular maintenance schedule of the HVAC systems throughout the campus which began last year.
The temporary fix has brought the thermostat in the SAPA kennels down to 60 degrees, she said. It will be about three weeks before the system is completely replaced.
Dog-foster volunteer Eby said the dogs she’s caring for could be in her home for a few months before they move on to other foster homes and adoption. She downplays the work involved.
“Mama takes care of the pups, really, so mostly, it’s just taking care of Mama … making sure she has a good life,” Eby said.
On Thursday, SAPA declared another “code red” day, a designation it uses when ACS has more than 25 pets on its euthanasia list and rescue groups have only a few hours to save the animals.
“It’s been nonstop, but we’re hanging in there,” Paz Perez said. “We’ve had lots of fosters step up, so it’s making it all worth it.”
