The Weekly Carnage: May 25, 2026
Names, images and stories of cats and dogs recently exterminated by Animal Care Centers of New York City.
About NYC ACC KILLS memoriam posts
Like most New York City officials, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, NYC ACC staff as a rule do not respond to queries from The Scoop New York. Information in NYC ACC KILLS memoriam posts, therefore, is drawn from reader tips, records ACC has chosen to make public, and the ACC “at-risk outcomes” list.
As evidenced by its monthly and annual outcome data reports, ACC kills far more cats and dogs than appear on the at-risk list. ACC exterminates many healthy and adoptable cats and dogs without first offering them for adoption. Victims of this ACC practice are known among advocates as “silent kills.”
ACC will often spay or neuter a cat or dog only to exterminate her or him during recovery, or soon after. This practice is known as “spay-neuter-kill.”
Known silent kills and spay-neuter-kill victims are identified as such by NYC ACC KILLS.
Since cats are underrepresented on ACC’s “at-risk outcomes” list, they are also underrepresented here.
Due to gaps in ACC record-keeping, memoriam posts are, sadly, bound to be incomplete. The Scoop New York continually adds names and images of ACC victims to NYC ACC KILLS as we find them. Follow NYC ACC KILLS and The Scoop New York on social media for updates.
If you’re with a rescue, or you’re an NYC ACC volunteer, and would like to contribute images of exterminate cats and dogs — or tell us about your experience working with ACC — please contact TSNY.
A note about names: Many animals come to NYC ACC with unknown histories, including their names. In addition, ACC does not always use the name a cat or dog is accustomed to, even if the agency knows what it is. As a result, many animals exterminated by ACC are never properly identified. Unfortunately, for the most part NYC ACC KILLS has only the names provided by ACC, even if those names are incorrect or nonsensical. ACC-assigned names are presented here without quotation marks unless TSNY can confirm an animal was known by a different name when admitted to ACC.
ACC operates under putative supervision by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which endorses the publicly-funded killing of healthy and adoptable cats and dogs at will and with impunity.
HEAD NYC ACC VETERINARIAN
Robin Brennen: Email 1, 2
OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR NYC ACC OVERSIGHT
Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Contact form
City Council Speaker Julie Menin: 212-788-7210; Email
Council health chair Lynn Schulman: 212-788-6981; Email
Comptroller Mark Levine: 212-669-3916; Contact forms
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams: 212-669-7250; Email
City Council members: Lookup
Borough presidents: BX; BK; MN; SI; QS
NYC DOH Commissioner Alister Martin: 311; Contact form
NYC DOH ACC minder Corinne Schiff: 646-632-6496; Email
In memoriam
CATS
At publication time NYC ACC KILLS had no information on cats recently exterminated by ACC. Subscribe to receive updated monthly NYC ACC KILLS memoriam posts.
DOGS
Peter Pan [251263]: 7 years old; killed May 17
Peter Pan, flagged for cruelty and neglect, arrived at ACC emaciated with a skull and jaw fracture, a wound, and a lame hind leg. Even so, his good nature prevailed; during his medical exam he wagged his tail and leaned into staff for affection.
Peter Pan did great in the dog/dog greet, loved playing fetch in the yard, was easily leashed and walked well, checking in with the handler and ignoring other dogs. In the play yard he would gently lick his handler’s face and roll onto their lap. On his walks in and out of the shelter, he happily greeted familiar staff.
ACC killed Peter Pan on day 44. Apparently, when he bit the fake hand looming at him in their assessment test his fate was sealed. They cited that fact as an excuse to kill him. Never mind that the test is widely known to prove nothing or that Peter Pan’s skull had been fractured, possibly by a hand coming at him, or a boot. Even abused dogs that remain friendly and gentle aren’t given a chance at ACC.
Angel [128825]: 7 years old; killed May 17
Angel, a long-term stay and a Shelter Scholar, had been at ACC four years earlier, surrendered by his family, then reclaimed. Described as friendly and affectionate, he happily lived with a young child and liked to follow his family from room to room.
ACC said, “Angel is highly responsive to training, quickly learns new cues, and is social with staff.” Volunteers adored him. At the beginning of his stay at ACC one wrote, “Angel jumps into Santa’s lap and stays there for the duration of our time outside with him. He relishes some time out of the pop-up crate he’s been housed in for the last two and a half weeks. There, he takes our treats gently and listens to us talk about how he indeed embodies his name, a real angel on earth. A sweet and gentle cherub indeed.”
Much later in his stay, another volunteer wrote, “One on one, I found Angel to be the most perfect and charming gentleman. He walks beautifully on leash, checks in with me regularly, and takes treats delicately from my hand. In the play yard, Angel stays close to me, leaning in to solicit affection and cheddar cheese from my treat pouch. Naturally I oblige because he deserves all the delicious things this world has to offer and so much more. It’s utterly heartbreaking to see him look so defeated and hopeless as each day of uncertainty goes by.”
Dr. Robin Brennen’s ACC vet team killed Angel on day 167.
Chalupa [253732]: age unknown; killed May 17
Chalupa was found on May 5 and killed 12 days later, a silent kill. ACC says he bit a handler’s hand there. Lots of dogs are fostered/adopted after biting, but Chalupa was never given a chance to be placed.
Newton [253993]: 12 years old; killed May 17
Newton was killed nine days after he was found on the streets. He had a foreign body obstruction in his stomach. Instead of removing it, Dr. Brennen and company killed him.
ACC said he came in tail wagging, allowed all handling. During his “behavior assessment,” he scrambled to the door to try to exit when the handler attempted to make contact with him. They noted that as a strike against him. But he soon warmed up to handlers. He did well around other dogs, was easily leashed and walked.
When Newton got very sick, began vomiting continuously, ACC wrote, “Given the advanced age of Newton, the extensive continuous vomiting and the likelihood of a gastric FB [foreign body], reaching out to NH [New Hope] with plea for further work up and possible abdominal exploratory. If no placement established, EHR [euthanasia] recommended.”
In essence, ACC asked New Hope partners — other rescue organizations — to take Newton off their hands and do the surgery needed. Even then, they didn’t give the rescues any time to help, killing Newton the same day they sent out their “plea.”
Skippers [252891]: 2 years old; killed May 19
Skippers, a stray, came in highly social and then became overwhelmed, scared and reactive to other dogs when going in and out of his kennel. He did better when outside of the facility, walking well on leash. Although nervous he remained friendly with staff — a beautiful boy in search of toys, he jumped into the toy bin to pick the best one.
ACC killed Skippers on day 24.
Bleu [254148]: 4 years old; killed May 19
ACC killed beautiful Bleu just nine days after he arrived. The ostensible reason: leash biting. Bleu’s human said he was an affectionate dog, loved belly rubs and kisses, toys, and bananas with peanut butter. He lived with a child and another dog, was playful with strangers and kids. His family surrendered Bleu because they could no longer afford his care.
During his time at ACC, they made notes on only two of the days he was there, the day of his intake and the day after. Bleu was a leash-biter, and when he bit the leash on intake, ACC put him on their favorite sedatives — Trazodone, Gabapentin, and Clonidine. How the drugs affected him we don’t know. There are no notes.
Barbara [251536]: 1 year old; killed May 21
Her human said Barbara was a “lap dog who sleeps a lot on you.” No wonder she was not a fan of the cat in her home. They also said, she’s “extremely affectionate, very cuddly, and eager to please! She loves to tear up plushies, squeakers, and crinkly toys.”
At ACC Barbara was loose, wiggly, and wagging. Easily leashed, she did well on walks and played fetch nicely — their test to see if she would resource-guard the ball. She sought affection from her handlers and pets.
The only excuse they could find to kill her is that she barked and growled on intake. ACC killed Barbara on day 41.
Acai [253442]: 6 years old; killed May 21
In his video, Acai, a stray, looks scared and hopeful at the same time. A volunteer said, “I met Acai on a nearby stoop and his big handsome head drew me in immediately as I walked down the block towards him. He posed for his photos dutifully, but was enraptured by the toys I used to gain his focus. He hopped to catch them and then squeaked away in this little alcove, before we took a stroll back to the yard.”
Toys got Acai in trouble. He would sometimes screech at a person holding the toy and jump too much get them. He wouldn’t trade his ball for cheese. Their report of successfully hiding toys from him speaks volumes about the nature of their “care.”
Clearly, toys were a comfort to Acai. He also had several fractured teeth that could be causing pain. How about just give the sad boy his toy and let him keep it? ACC killed Acai on day 21.
Sasha [229472]: 2 years old; killed May 21
Returned from foster care on May 6, Sasha was put on health department hold, which is usually for bites.
Sasha had been in the ACC system for almost a year when they killed her without attempting to find another foster.
Known as a super silly girl, flopping over for belly rubs was Sasha’s signature move. She died another ACC silent kill victim.
