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The San Antonio City Council approved a $15 million contract to build a new veterinary hospital on the city’s West Side.
Animal Care Services currently has a 3,000-square- foot clinic on its campus at Highway 151 and Highway 90, but city officials said it’s nowhere near the size it needs to be for current demand. The funds come from the voter-approved 2022 bond program. The council selected construction firm F.A. Nunnelly Company for the project.
The contract authorizes the construction of a new hospital and expanding the facility to 17,000 square feet.
“The current facility just wasn’t designed to care for the number of animals that we have coming in here through our doors,” said ACS Director John Gary. “So the new facility is going to give us much better capability to treat animals as well as increase our spay-neuter capacity that we have here on campus.”
The ACS campus has 11 buildings and is the headquarters for the city’s animal responsive teams. It also includes a shelter and provides adoption opportunities throughout the year.
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee Rodriguez said the upgrade is badly needed. The councilman said he spoke with ACS staff who detailed their needs during the 2022 bond process.
“We know that the needs of ACS are great, and when they don’t have the resources that they need to perform the work our community expects and needs, it is a detriment to morale, to trust and to community safety.”
Animal Care Services will break ground on the new hospital in February and should take about 18 months.
According to city data, ACS has a live release rate of 87% as of October 2025. That month there were 2,459 cats and dogs taken into ACS care. About 660 were adopted while 900 were transferred to rescue operations. Another 400 were returned to owners and 350 were euthanized. The shelter ended October with about 600 dogs and cats remaining in its care.