In these sweltering dog days of summer, the Town Lake Animal Center has more than 20 dogs who are vulnerable and at risk from the extreme heat. As long as the temperature remains over 100 degrees, adoption fees for these older dogs will be waived. more ›

The Town Lake Animal Center announced the fourth annual Kitty Palooza will take place this weekend, June 25-26, in the Davenport Building of the Center. Starting at 10:00 a.m., kitty fans will be treated to "a wide variety of acts," according to Coordinator Sarah Hammond, including Simon & Purrbunkle, the Steve Litter Ban, Kings of Meow and Neon Kittens. For those in search of a more seasoned pet, the Desperate House Cats as well as the Desperate House Dogs will be making special appearances. Once these stars have graced the Austin stage, residents can take these cats (well, any of the cats at the TLAC) -- as well as any dogs over a year old -- home for an adoption fee of only $5. [TLAC] more ›

The Town Lake Animal Shelter has an unusually high number of kittens currently, and they're making a public appeal for foster families willing to care for kittens for 2-4 weeks. The animal center pays for medical costs for the animals and provides food. The foster homes are asked to provide bedding, space, and love and care for the animals. For more information, call (512) 972-6071 or visit the shelter at 1156 W. Cesar Chavez St. You should do it, if you're not a jerk, because there are far too many animals in need in Central Texas. Still not convinced? more ›

Two Austin-area animal shelters, Austin Pets Alive! and Humane Society of Williamson County, have been chosen to participate in the qualifying heat of the ASPCA $100K Challenge. During the initial voting round, which ends at midnight on Friday, April 15, supporters can vote online to send shelters to the final round of the challenge. The 50 agencies with the most votes will be the official contestants in the $100K Challenge. more ›

In a City of Austin press release, Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras attributed some of the success to a moratorium on euthanizing animals when there is kennel space available. The press release also credited their achievement to "closing the night drop-off boxes; adding a full- and part-time veterinarian; enhancing the foster care program as well as low-cost/free spay and neuter services; and increasing the marketing and publicity efforts for adoption and animal services offered by the City." more ›

The American Kennel Club today published their annual Top 5 list of AKC-registered dog breeds in Austin, which are (in order from #1): Labrador Retriever, Yorkshire Terrier, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, and Dachshund. The list largely tracks the national trend, except for the latter list's fifth place breed, the Beagle. [American Kennel Club Reveals Austin's Top Dogs] more ›

A recent ranking of pet-friendly cities by Rent.com puts Austin in sixth place, for such amenities as Zilker Botanical Gardens and off-leash parks. more ›

• Never ending war.
• Inhofe on Franken: pot calling the kettle black.
• Just what America needs - less educated students.

• Irony?: Perry's comments yesterday on possible secession may have made a Presidential run in 2012 more plausible.
• Meanwhile, Texas Dems say Perry should take back his sorta-secessionist comments.
• Oh, and Perry says he never called for secession.

• Obama's Blackberry ushers 2002 technology into the White House.
• The First Family causes J.Crew website to crash.
• Oath do over!

• Fannie and Freddie to testify.
• Come on, just say it. Let's practice: Nation. National. Nationalize. Nationalization!
• Tribune Co is the latest to file for bankruptcy.

Just days before it was set to launch, the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter has decided to pull its week-long "Black is Beautiful" campaign, meant to spur adoption of the center's black-coated dogs and cats. more ›

Seeing that Austin is such an awesome pet-friendly town, it should come as no surprise that Animal Fair Magazine has given the historic and lovely Driskill Hotel one of seven “Five star Bone” awards in recognition of their Pampered Pet Program. more ›

Free Week is still kicking -- hard. There's a veritable horde of bands to catch tonight and tomorrow. more ›

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note Greetings from Froggy McGee, writing to you while recovering in sick bay. I'm happy to report that the Bay Area tour I went on with the brilliant and talented crew of the Broken Clock Cabaret, featuring the rowdy and ravenous No Salvation Army Band, was an absolute success! Unfortunately, the crazy schedule and... more ›

Austin Humane Society, the largest nonprofit no-kill pet shelter and adoption center in town, recently suffered a tremendous setback: yesterday, the facility's A/C system abruptly shut down. A subsequent inspection found the system to be broken beyond repair. "Our air conditioning unit died," said AHS representative Lisa Starr to KXAN. "Went kaput." The center is installing a temporary mobile A/C unit today, but this solution won't work for the long term; even now, the animals... more ›

Last Friday, Pets America delivered pet oxygen masks to City Hall; there are enough so that 100 local emergency vehicles can be outfitted with sets of three masks (cat, small dog and large dog). The funds for this project were raised in cooperation with Tomlinson's Pet Supplies, Lowe's, the Austin Community Foundation, and individual donors. Austinites helped raise over $5,500 to help save the lives of cats and dogs in need of oxygen in fiery situations. more ›

The Austin Zoo boasts many fuzzy faces and feline friends (just don't get too close) as well as birds, turtles, snakes, and one giant cockroach. Spend a weekend afternoon feeding the goats, sheep, pigs, and llamas as well as getting close up views of rescued bears, lions, and a host of other animals that don't make for great pets. Since Austin Zoo is a rescue zoo that "provides sanctuary to displaced animals from a... more ›

• There is officially a place in hell for illegal-drug dealers...but what happens if/when said drug becomes legal someday?...perhaps you can just fill out some paperwork to get through the holy gates.
• ...and Ricky Williams might be doing just that. He is still testing positive for the reefer.
• Obesity is not only a problem in adults and children, your pets are getting fat, too.
• Parks may soon get funding from condo developers. So we're guessing that Austin should have a TON of greenspace in a few years.
• You're never too young to carrry a firearm.
• Filling up your tank could double as happy hour in the near future.
• Even a German company couldn't save this American car company. more ›

It's the Effing Spamarama Y'all! Tomorrow! SPAMARAMA ® 2007, Austin's annual pandemonious potted pork festival, does its part to “Keep Austin Weird” celebrating its 29th anniversary on April 7! more ›

Austin Pets Alive!, a local organization working to hinder pet overpopulation, is hosting a fundraiser tonight. Their Pet Friend of the Year, Tom Spencer from KLRU, will be feted, and State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez and City Councilmember Lee Leffingwell will make appearances. The money raised tonight will benefit a group that promotes spaying/neutering services to the Austin community. Austin resolved to become a "no kill" city in the 90s, but in 2005, over half... more ›

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor... more ›

Note: Today's the last day of our two week long ticket giveaway, and the festival's nearly a week away! This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts... more ›

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair... more ›

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair... more ›

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair... more ›

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair... more ›

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair... more ›

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair... more ›

This winter, Alamo Drafthouse and some of the folks at Emo's are teaming up to throw an enormous single-day music festival at Waterloo Park. Sponsored by yours truly, METV, 101x, The Onion, AT&T, Mickey's, and Waterloo Records, the FunFunFun Fest features three stages of nonstop indie rock, punk, and electronic bands, including several bigger acts like Peaches, Spoon, Prefuse 73 and Circle Jerks. From November 8 to November 22, we're giving away a pair... more ›