Dozens of dogs were stranded by Texas floods. Austin rescuers answered the call

Austin Pets Alive! crews rescued dogs from flooded homes in the Texas Hill Country and South Texas after rising floodwaters cut off an evacuated neighborhood, leaving some families unable to take their pets with them.

Over four days, the Austin nonprofit deployed shelter staff and volunteers to Kerr County, Uvalde, Batesville and other flood-stricken communities, where teams found shelters that were "underwater or facing euthanasia due to overcrowding," spokesperson Suzie Chase said.

One rescue mission took crews to a neighborhood near Crystal City that had been isolated by floodwaters. Staff and volunteers spent about an hour searching for a way in before the local fire department cleared them to enter, Chase said.

The first animals were rescued around 7 p.m. As crews went door to door, they found dogs trapped inside flooded homes and kennels that were partially submerged.

"There are dozens and dozens of dogs in this neighborhood," one team member texted from the scene around 8 p.m., Chase said.

Crews continued rescuing animals until about 10 p.m. and stayed until 1 a.m. providing medical care to pets that had been stranded in poor condition.

The operation was complicated by a shortage of shelter space. At the same time, Austin Pets Alive! was moving animals out of the Crystal City shelter to make room for pets rescued from the flooded neighborhood.

The shelter "was not even on our radar until yesterday," Chase wrote, but quickly became part of the widening response.

Austin Pets Alive! said it has taken in more than 270 animals from flooded communities while also delivering pet food and other supplies to affected areas farther south.

By relocating animals already housed in local shelters, the organization is helping create space for displaced pets to remain closer to the communities where their owners may be searching for them.

Austin Pets Alive! is continuing to seek foster homes, donations and supplies as flood rescue operations continue.

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