A man accused of killing four dogs at his Southwest Side home had previously reached out to San Antonio’s Animal Care Services for help several times, according to a relative.
Raul Canales, Jr., 76, was arrested on animal cruelty charges — which are considered third-degree felonies — Sunday at his home in the 500 block of Cavalier Avenue near South Zarzamora Street.
A report from San Antonio police said officers responded to a call about someone at that home killing dogs and found several pets dead there.
In the report, SAPD said officers also found some living animals on the property, which were then turned over to ACS. The report did not offer specifics about what was done to the dogs or exactly how they died.
KSAT 12 News spoke off-camera to a man in the neighborhood Tuesday morning who claimed to be a relative of Canales.
The relative said the dogs that were killed were puppies from an unexpected litter and were extremely sick.
The relative said Canales had called ACS several times for help with the animals.
When an ACS crew showed up at the home last Friday, the relative said the agency refused to take the puppies due to its shelter being full.
The ACS workers told Canales to try back again after the Memorial Day weekend, the relative said.
In the meantime, police said Canales, Jr. ended up killing the pups.
KSAT 12 News reached out to ACS throughout the day Tuesday, including sending several emails and leaving voicemail messages with requests for more details on the case.
Spokesperson Claudia Balarin sent KSAT the following statement on Tuesday afternoon:
On May 22, Animal Care Services responded to an anonymous call about loose puppies in the street. During the response, the resident shared that the owner surrender process for the animals had begun the week prior. ACS has no record or information indicating that the puppies were sick at the time of the field response. As of yesterday, 8 dogs were owner-surrendered into our care, and 2 additional dogs were confiscated.
ACS Spokesperson Claudia Balarin
Meanwhile, Canales is being held at the Bexar County jail on bonds totaling $100,000.
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