Large, medium dogs having difficult time finding "furever" homes in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas - A photographer with the Austin Animal Center said a dog named Buddy was recently left outside of a pet store. Buddy had a message written on the back of his tag. "Jumps fences but sweet. Can't take Buddy home to Ohio. Please give him a kind home, Nan." \

Buddy is now currently up for adoption at a shelter that is already past capacity.

In general, the Austin Animal Center said medium and large dogs are difficult to adopt out. “There are definitely a lot of restrictions here in Austin, size, weight so making sure people get a look at that before they come,” said Jennifer Olohan with the Austin Animal Center.

Forty-five days ago, the center took in River who was surrendered because the place his family was living didn’t allow dogs of his size. “He's a really sweet dog, he's handsome but just kind of got stuck in the shelter system,” said Olohan.

The no-kill shelter has some dogs double up in kennels or even triple up because they are over capacity. Sometimes their roommate isn't a dog. The center is also using their offices to help house dogs.

“We have to utilize a lot of nonpublic space just to have places to put them and that's kind of the downfall because if they are not in a public area then the public can't see them and they can't get adopted,” said Olohan.

While the center is looking for a "furever" home for all these furry friends, those looking to adopt should make sure the animals are able to actually live with you first.

Right now they have 685 animals including dogs and cats which need a home.