Kennedy Eurich said the center holds a special place in her heart because it’s the place she adopted her own pets from.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Animal Center on Saturday teamed up with a social media influencer seeking to raise money and awareness for the shelter.
After a year that saw overcrowding in shelters all over, including right here in Central Texas, Kennedy Eurich stepped in to help.
“So, I was like if I’m throwing an event, it has to be something that I truly care about. And so, I was like, no question,” Eurich said.
She’s a TiKTok and social media star that lives here in Austin. For her, the Austin Animal Center holds a special place in her heart as it’s the place she’s gotten her own pets from.
“Fell in love with them, met him at the shelter that day. They’re like, ‘You want to take him?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll take them next,’ you know? Like, that’s why I went for all of my pets,” she said.
Luis Herrera works for the city and the center. He said Texas shelters are overwhelmed right now and it’s been hard to keep up.
“More people are bringing their animals to us and we are trying to find these forever homes,” Herrera said.
Adoption isn’t the only way you can help out, he said.
“If you all can be a foster home for the moment, that can be great and help us at least for one week or two weeks,” Herrera added.
Eurich noted that for her, being an influencer goes beyond social media.
“I hate that title because I’m like, who am I really influencing? And it’s crazy. I met so many people here tonight. It’s like, ‘Hey, I literally adopted from Austin Animal Center because of you.’ Or, ‘Hey, I adopted animals because of you or my cat, I got an orange cat because of you.’”
She wants people to feel the same joy she did the day she brought her forever friends home.
“To be able to give back to dogs like mine, hopefully just get the name out there and so people can hopefully find their own forever fur baby,” Eurich said.
By the time of the event, $8,000 had already been raised. Eurich said her goal was to at least hit $10,000 or more dollars for the animal center. Those who wish to donate can do so by sending donations to @KennKids on Venmo.
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