San Antonio Watchdog Group

07/12/2025

Crazy to think that this individual use to be the director of the San Antonio Animal Care Services Shelter 😧

Additional context coming soon.

You. He is calling some of you these names. 😬

14/12/2023

No Kill San Antonio was the very first group to break the story about the private consultation by Kristen Hassen, paid for by Petco Love

The goal of the consultation was to get ACS’s live release rate back to 90%

ACS could not stop killing dogs, not even for a single day, and this frustrated the Austin Animal Care behaviorists that were tasked with teaching the ACS staff how to co-house dogs in order to save more lives

The consultation ended and ACS kept it a secret, they even went as far as blocking advocate’s original Public Information Request but the city attorney determined that ACS did not hold legal grounds to withhold all of the documents and therefore the documents were released with some redactions

In those documents were many red flags. You can find out more by following NKSA and by reading the following posts:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/BTqucskFYpib7dkN/?mibextid=WC7FNe

https://www.facebook.com/share/9n778MDGwkDSExVY/?mibextid=WC7FNe

https://sanantonioreport.org/san-antonio-animal-care-services-shelter-consultant/

Even before a deadly dog mauling threw Animal Care Services into turmoil, a national rescue partner sought to flag operational issues at the shelter.

06/05/2023

Over a year has gone by and nothing has improved for the dogs and cats who need specialty care today.

No X-Ray machine, despite volunteers offering to fundraise for one. Director Shannon Sims has turned down advocates every step of the way. A team of volunteers gathered a list of portable x-ray equipment that doesn’t require a lot of power and doesn’t take up a lot of space. This is the same style of equipment that traveling livestock veterinarians use. Mr. Sims never responded to the email nor the follow-up. That was right around the time we were advocating for Pumpkin here on our page and instead of responding to the volunteers, Mr. Sims instead prioritized sending our page an antagonistic email, all to try to silence our advocacy for Pumpkin.

It is clear to us that the only barrier between the medical animals receiving the proper care they need is the director of ACS himself, Mr. Shannon Sims. Volunteers have presented solutions to each of Mr. Sims’s excuses and he eventually stopped responding.

The bottom line is that if this were important to Mr. Sims, it wouldn’t take this much effort for ACS to find a way to provide diagnostics for injured patients.

Little Leon, the latest victim. He was 8 months old and he sat in the medical clinic for 2 weeks with a suspected fractured pelvis. His notes read “advise pelvic rads.” He never got them. Instead, little Leon was killed by ACS on May 5th. There have been hundreds more cases like Leon.

What does a new clinic set to be completed in 2025 (at the earliest) do for the animals who need help NOW? Do their lives not matter?

https://www.facebook.com/100936975783031/posts/120588973817831/?mibextid=cr9u03

Did you know that Animal Care Services of San Antonio, Texas does NOT have an x-ray machine? Dogs like Dempsey are victims of amputations because of ACS's outdated approach to helping animals in their custody with broken bones.

What is ACS's current practice for handling cases with broken or fractured bones? The medical staff will palpate the break to try to assess what kind of break occurred. Then, they bandage the limb and send the dog back to a kennel where the dog is made to wait it out.

What happens if the break does not heal itself in a timely manner? Medical staff will then remove the entire limb via amputation....

This is BARBARIC! These animals deserve to keep their limbs. How can they determine that amputation is the best outcome if they do not even perform an x-ray to assess the injury?

Imagine going to your own doctor for a broken arm only to have your doctor recommend amputation without truly assessing the break via X-ray? That of course would be an unacceptable practice!

Mr. Sims continues to defend himself from current criticisms of how the sick and injured animals are treated under his care (see Troody's story) and maintain that this is all reason as to why ACS needs a NEW medical clinic.

They do NOT need a new medical clinic to be proactive NOW for the animals in their CURRENT care.

We hope that the bond passes this spring and that ACS is afforded the funding to assist with medical clinic upgrades. With that said, WHAT WILL ACS DO NOW TO BETTER CARE FOR THE ANIMALS IN THEIR CURRENT CUSTODY?

How long will a new medical building take to build? 3 month? 6 months? 2 years? That is too long for the animals who need better help NOW!

We demand that ACS recognizes that regardless of a building, it is the people in the building that make the difference. A new building will do nothing for animals if current practices are allowed to continue.

✅ Quality care can happen BEFORE the animal hospital on campus is built!

✅ Quality care will happen when management embraces the culture of saving lives and engages the 1.4 million people in the City of San Antonio to help! (There are more in the metro area.)

We recommend that Shannon Sims looks to his community for help. Surely there is a radiologist in the great city of San Antonio that would be interested in a partnership with ACS so x-rays can become a STANDARD practice for treating animals with broken bones?

Doing the right thing can happen NOW. There are no excuses. Mr. Sims MUST BE PROACTIVE! The injured animals in his care are counting on him!

30/04/2023

From No Kill San Antonio:

“📣 Calling all San Antonio animal lovers! It’s time to sign up for the upcoming city council meeting 🗣🎙More info in the shared post. Is it your first time? Need some guidance? Let us know how we can help. Don’t be shy! 🙈, the shelter animals of San Antonio depend on you and your voice matters! 🐱 🐶 Not able to attend? Find out how you can make a public comment in the shared post ✍️”

📣 Here is the link to sign up to speak for the animals next Wednesday. https://www.saspeakup.com/?fbclid=IwAR3rld5FN2KsgQSCoTAolOJrdRnNjPBDGTVUL2KZJHzkfD0VJVMAS0KcOiw


🎯SUGGESTED TOPICS:
1) ACS is to develop a comprehensive and accessible local pet adoption program to save lives of shelter animals.
2) COSA is to livestream, record and publish ALL public comments as part of the meetings.
3) When will COSA make No Kill an official goal after seventeen (17) years of trying?

📣 PUBLIC COMMENT is your opportunity to address your City and the elected officials directly about issues that are important to you and your community. PLEASE COME SPEAK FOR THE ANIMALS.
Many animal advocates have been attending multiple different meetings in the last few years. Some prepared a speech and spoke to ask for ACS to reform to be No Kill. Please do your civic duty and come help the animals who face imminent danger at ACS every day! Statistics have shown there is enough compassion in San Antonio to save ALL the healthy and treatable dogs and cats that ACS kills every year.

If you have been following us, you will know several pet product websites have also proved to Americans that the pet care/services industry doesn't only bring big bucks for our economy, it is also the most economic recession proof industry. It soared upward incessantly even during the Pandemic.

Email us or send us a private message to inquire more. Hope to see you at the next meeting.
📧 [email protected]

You can sign up to speak online. You must be present when your name is called. You will have 3 minutes to speak. If you do sign up to speak you can give your 3 minutes to another speaker but you must be present to do so. It would be good for speakers to know if they will be given more time so as to prepare. If you cannot attend, you can submit written comments online. To sign up in person you must sign up before the meeting begins.

The link to the notice and to sign up to speak or to leave a comment online is https://www.saspeakup.com/?fbclid=IwAR0Y0LySsAMgC1yQwq0JV36qGKeDsB5jdbko_XxRvDaDkl50R-KyEILEZtw

26/04/2023

When a shelter is not true no-kill, not even puppies are safe like these two who were destroyed yesterday by Animal Care Services, under the authority of Director Shannon Sims and his management team.

The city shelter has never been a true no-kill shelter because they set their goal at an arbitrary “90%.” True no-kill is not a number, it’s a model. When life affirming options are ensured by the shelter for every animal in their care, the number will be earned naturally, not artificially.

A No-kill city is possible but it will take work. Please support those efforts by following No Kill San Antonio

25/04/2023

San Antonio residents, did you know that the Public Comment Council Meetings are not recorded?

These are the public comment sessions meaning when concerned San Antonio residents come forward to speak in front of elected government officials including Mayor Ron Nirenberg, council members, and city management.

Why aren’t these sessions recorded? The citizens have the right to this information. When a session is recorded, it not only opens up access making the session more accessible for residents who are unable to attend in person (for a variety of reasons), but it also is archived and saved for later viewing.

San Antonio residents, if you think that the Session B meetings should be recorded, please join the call-to-action.

https://www.facebook.com/100090105829822/posts/161530903527103/?mibextid=cr9u03

📣CALL TO ACTION📣

✳️ Please RESPECTFULLY REQUEST our officials to start recording and publishing Public Comments (Session B ) as part of the public meetings. Every community member should have the opportunity to review discussions made by elected officials AND members of the community without being present. Making sure every voice is heard by the community is protecting equality values of democracy that are fundamental to change and balance. It's only fair.

📍Click on the links below to fill out the Contact Form, make a call to your representative OR all of them to ask for Public Comments to be recorded and published on a regular basis.
*There is a crisis in SA! You don't need to live in San Antonio to share empathetic concerns.

📧 D1 - Mario Bravo
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D1

📧 D2 - Jalen McKee Rodriguez
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D2

📧D3 - Phyllis Viagran
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D3

📧 D4 - Dr. Adriana Rocha
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D4

📧 D5 - Teri Castillo
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D5

📧 D6 - Melissa Cabello Havrda
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D6

📧 D7 - Rosie Castro
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D7

📧 D8 - Manny Pelaez
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D8

📧 D9 - John Courage
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D9

📧 D10 - Marc Whyte
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/City-Council/D10

📧 Mayor - Ron Nirenberg
https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/Mayor-Council/Mayor

📧 City Manager & Staff https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/CMO

16/04/2023

More enforcement? More spay and neuter? What does that do for the 50 dogs and puppies already alive and in the shelter system who need help NOW?

50 dogs and puppies authorized to be killed on Monday by Director Shannon Sims and his management team.

Catch. Hold. Release. Destruction. Repeat. Is this the solution? Sims and his team would argue that it is. Sims is supported by city council with a budget of 21.4 million dollars and to do what? Kill his way out of the issues he faces?

21.4 million tax dollars, hard at work, destroying healthy, adoptable, treatable shelter pets



If you agree that Director Shannon Sims needs to be replaced by someone who believes in saving, not killing, you can join the call-to-action:
https://www.facebook.com/100936975783031/posts/222069660336428/?mibextid=cr9u03

Source 1 (dogs listed in orange have been slated to be killed):https://www.sanantonio.gov/acs/ACS_website_euth_capacity.pdf

Source 2 (a networking post): https://www.facebook.com/100077183934953/posts/237614152154714/?mibextid=cr9u03

08/04/2023

The High Volume Spay and Neuter Contract Plan Performance for Fiscal Year 2022 reveals that the total number of procedures fell short of its goal by 16,563 operations.

Animal Care Services, the city shelter in San Antonio, has several contracts with Spay and Neuter partners to assist with providing high volume, low cost spay and neuter accessibility.

These contracts are specific to each partnership but include compensation and in some cases, other kickbacks such as rent free occupation of city owned facilities (such as the case with the Brooks center).

Our records request revealed that none of the partners met their 2022 FY goals and the total amount of procedures reported was only 11,892 of the goal of 28,455.

Big changes were made for FY 2023 including a new partnership with the Spay Neuter Network, replacing the existing contract with Pet Shotz (Brackenridge location). A presentation provided by ACS Chief Operations Officer, Bethany Colonnese, on November 16, 2022, revealed that the new partnership with SNN, a 3 year contract, included 250 free surgeries and 6,500 low cost surgeries for San Antonio residents.

Earlier this year, San Antonio Humane Society announced they would no longer be operating out of the Brooks clinic. They made the following announcement:

"Effective Wednesday February 1, the San Antonio Humane Society (SAHS) will no longer operate at the Brooks Spay/Neuter Clinic. We thank the City of San Antonio Animal Care Services (SAACS) for our partnership during the last six years. We look forward to continuing to work together to save dogs and cats in our community.

We are excited to expand our services at our state-of-the-art Leeu Naylor Medical Building, centrally located on our main campus at 4804 Fredericksburg Road. By focusing our efforts here, we’ll be able to increase spay/neuter surgeries and offer Wellness Clinics every Saturday."

It is unclear at this time what the city plans to do with the Brooks Spay/Neuter clinic.

Director Shannon Sims has continued to state on record that the issues surrounding spay and neuter are due in part by the ongoing "national vet shortage."

Sources available below in the comments.

08/04/2023

On Wednesday, March 22nd, Animal Care Services director Shannon Sims went before the San Antonio City Council to present the Animal Care Services strategic plan. Following the presentation, city council members took turns asking Shannon Sims questions, revealing their own focuses and understanding (or lack thereof) of the daily issues taking place at the city shelter in San Antonio.

We will speak more on this soon but for now, we wanted to post the video so you can go back and watch it if you haven't had the chance to do so yet.

Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Agenda:
Briefing on the Animal Care Services Strategic Plan. [David W. McCary, Assistant City Manager;
Shannon Sims, Director, Animal Care Services]

https://www.saspeakup.com/PY60716

Please see the San Antonio Mayor and City Council webpages for complete information. Mayor s Office : (210) 207-7107 . City Council Office : (210) 207-7040 .

01/04/2023

San Antonio Animal Care Services, under the direction of Shannon Sims and Live Release Manager Jessica Travis, schedule to kill 8 puppies after giving each a superhero name.

The names given to all 8 puppies are Captain America, Spider (assuming they meant Spiderman), Superman, Thor, Batman, Wonder Women (should be woman), Hulk, and Gamora.

The message on the report listing each puppy reads “Due to kennel capacity this pet will be euthanized on 4/1/2023 without confirmed placement”

The irony here is that Animal
Care Services is the villain by its truest definition: “a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot.”

These 8 puppies need a real community hero to save them from the “shelter” that has sealed their fate with an arbitrary deadline of Saturday (April 1st).

We left more information about each puppy in the comments below.

Want to help make San Antonio a true no kill city? Consider sending an email. More info here: https://www.facebook.com/100936975783031/posts/222069660336428/?mibextid=cr9u03

30/03/2023

All of these dogs have exactly one thing in common. They were all KILLED today by ACS under Shannon Sims (director) and Jessica Travis (live release manager).

This shelter is NOT a no-kill shelter. This is not what No-kill is. All of these dogs were placeable. Look at the time spent at the shelter? 3 days? 4 days? 6 days?

Shannon Sims and his upper management team need to be fired immediately. This is unacceptable. Get them out of there and demand that the city of San Antonio hire competent leaders who don’t kill off the problems they face.

Send an email now! Here is the info on sending an email: https://www.facebook.com/100936975783031/posts/222069660336428/?mibextid=cr9u03