find a furever friend

Adopt a furry forever friend with these 10 Houston animal organizations

Grab a pup or kitten during National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day.

Courtesy photo

As animal lovers know, spring is a time for renewal and regrowth — and furbabies. Sadly, that means thousands of new stray kittens and puppies on busy, dangerous, and desolate Houston streets.

That means animal shelters will be especially paced. Best Friends Animal Society estimates more than 40,000 animals enter shelters throughout the Greater Houston area each year— or, simply put, enough to fill Minute Maid Stadium. Worse, Texas is nationally ranked second to California for highest number of animals killed in shelters.

To help remedy the situation, Best Friends and several other rescues are partnering for a series of virtual and in-person animal adoption events in honor of National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day. Kicking things off is the The 2nd Annual Virtual Pet Adoption preview event, which will be held noon Friday, April 30 on Best Friends Houston’s Instagram account @bfas_houston.

Viewers will be able to see cute and cuddly adoptable friends from across the Houston area. Then, on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 in-person adoption events will be held across the city at participating animal shelter and rescue locations.

Here is a list of the partnering organizations and shelters:

*BARC (City of Houston Animal Shelter)
Adoption hours: 11am-5pm
3300 Carr St.; 713-229-7300

Best Friends Animal Society
Adoption hours: May 1-2, 10am-4pm
Pop-up adoption location: CityCentre (799 Town & Country Blvd suite 143; between Madewell and Paper Source)

City of Baytown Animal Services & Adoption Center
Adoption hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-5pm
705 N Robert C Lanier Dr. in Baytown; 281-422-7600

Fort Bend County Animal Services
Adoption/kennel hours: 10 am-4 pm Tuesday; 5 pm-7 pm Wednesday; 11 am-3 pm Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday and Thursday
1210 Blume Rd. in Rosenberg; 281-342-1512

Galveston County Animal Resource Center
Adoption hours: Noon-6 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays; Noon-5 pm Wednesdays and Fridays; 10 am-5 pm Saturdays; closed Sunday and Monday
3412 25th Ave. N (Loop 197 N) in Texas City; 409-948-2485

Harris County Pets
Adoption hours: Weekdays 11am-4 pm and weekends 1pm-5:50 pm
612 Canino Rd.; 281-999-3191

Pasadena Animal Shelter
Adoption hours: 9:30 am-2:30 pm Sunday
5150 Burke Rd. in Pasadena; 713-920-7942

Rosenberg Animal Control & Adoption Center
Adoption hours: Weekdays 11 am-6 pm and Saturday 11 am-4 pm
1207 Blume Rd. in Rosenberg; 832-595-3490

SPCA of Brazoria County
Adoption hours: 8am-5pm daily
141 Canna Ln. in Lake Jackson; 979-285-2340

Special Pals
Adoption hours: Wednesday-Sunday Noon-4 pm
3830 Greenhouse Rd.; 281-579-7387

Interested potential parents should note that special adoption discounts may apply. Call or visit each shelters’ website to determine the process and requirements for adoption.

pets charity

Settling Down

Houston earns top-10 rank among best places to retire in Texas in 2026

A Houston park with a bench and a little free library

Photo by Kenny Perez on Unsplash

Retirement unlocks more opportunities to spend time outdoors.

Houstonians getting ready to give up the daily grind are already living in a good place for their next chapter in life. Houston has just been named the No. 6 best city to retire in Texas, and it lands as the 82nd best city in the U.S., according to a new WalletHub report.

The study examined 182 U.S. cities and ranked them based on 45 "retirement-friendly" livability metrics across four key dimensions: affordability, activities, quality of life, and health care.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Florida dominated the top 10, with Orlando, Miami, and Tampa locking in the top three spots and Fort Lauderdale ranking eighth on the list.

Houston fared best in the "affordability" category, ranking 35th nationally. This encompassed the local cost of living, taxpayer-friendliness, the costs for in-home services, and other factors. Costs were a significant factor in the report, as many retirees live on a fixed income.

Finances and affordability also play a huge part in determining where to live once it's time to put up those work boots, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said.

"As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so," he said. "In addition, the top cities provide high-quality health care and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees."

The city also earned a respectable rank as No. 43 in the "activities" category, which analyzed attractions and entertainment venues for seniors, like the number of per capita museums, theaters, book clubs, senior centers, and bingo halls.

Houston fell behind in the remaining two nationwide categories for the best "health care" (No. 158) and "quality of life"(No. 167) for retirees.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin topped the list as the No. 1 best place to retire statewide, and it ranked No. 23 nationwide. San Antonio ranked No. 2 statewide and 47th nationally, and Dallas claimed the No. 3 spot statewide and was the only other Texas city to rank among the national top 50.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 75 – Plano
No. 78 – Fort Worth
No. 82 – Houston
No. 87 – Brownsville
No. 91 – Grand Prairie
No. 101 – Garland
No. 107 – Irving
No. 123 – El Paso
No. 124 – Arlington
No. 134 – Corpus Christi
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 155 – Lubbock

wallethub reports retirement city life rankings