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

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”