UPDATE, July 12: The City of Memphis told WREG retained Mary Claire Borys to oversee the shelter’s daily operations. This is on an interim basis, pending the outcome of the investigation.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — WREG Investigators are digging deeper to find out more about the Memphis Animal Services director now on leave pending an investigation.

A volunteer who worked with Ty Coleman at his last job in Midland, Texas, where he was an Animal Services Manager, is now speaking out about the things he’s accused of there that led to him losing his job.

She asked us to hide her identity because of her current role, and she’s afraid of retaliation.

“In the beginning, I was a fan of him. He comes in and is very convincing and very well spoken,” she said.

She said Coleman had the ambition and energy the shelter needed. He started in the summer of 2022.

“The red flags came quickly,” she said. “Probably December-ish. It was around Christmas that I picked up on things I wasn’t comfortable about.”

She says there was a slew of issues like distemper outbreaks, their longtime veterinarian and other staff quitting, and dogs not being picked up.

“Got word of dog attacks on people and those animals were not being picked up, and medical dogs being turned away at the door,” she added.

She told us other protocols changed including moving dogs outside, sometimes in the heat, when they cleaned kennels.

“He bought numerous kennels and would move dogs out there,” she said. “They were put outside with no shade or no water. Thankfully, we didn’t have a dog die.”

Less than a year after Coleman started, he was let go. The city stated he did not successfully complete his one-year probation, but didn’t provide further details.

We requested his employment file from Midland as well as another city where he worked, but have yet to hear back.

Coleman told the Midland media he was never informed he was doing anything wrong.

“The man knows why he was terminated. The city of Midland can’t and won’t release the reasons,” the volunteer said.

After ties were cut, Coleman spoke to the Midland City Council with his opinion on animal services.

“Ever since I was let go everybody has been upset with the city and what happened,” he said.

Three months later, the city of Memphis hired Coleman as interim Memphis Animal Services director.

It’s unclear what he said about Midland in his interview, but in the city’s announcement, the former job was praised as well as Coleman’s “dedicated experience of animal welfare” and “exceptional leadership.”

Mayor Paul Young’s office says they were aware of what happened in Midland.

In January, Coleman went before the city council and secured a unanimous vote to make Mayor Young’s appointment and the director title official.

Records indicate he’s earning a $120,000 salary, and controls an almost $6 million budget while managing a shelter that cares for 9,000 pets annually and has more than 70 full-and part- time employees.

“This is a big community issue. We have no rabies shots being given,” a concerned citizen told the council during a June meeting.

Since June, animal lovers, rescue groups and the MAS Advisory committee chairwoman have voiced concerns like the shelter’s veterinarians quitting.

MAS confirmed they resigned May 31 and have used “relief vets and organizations to perform spay/neuter surgeries” or had adopters to “sign a contract” promising to complete the surgery within 30 days.

MAS assured us on June 28, it’s maintained its premise permit, which is required by state law and ensures facilities maintain minimum standards.

On July 3, the mayor’s office stated the permit briefly lapsed since the permit was tied to a vet who left.

They said they found a new vet to assume the role and applied for a new permit, which was expected to go into effect last week. They say shelter operations have not been impacted.

We’ve reached out to the state for more information.

It’s another concern on top of others that continue to mount.

MAS confirmed a dog named LuLu died on June 24. She was in their “outdoor play yard” and “preliminary assessments suggest it was heat-related.” WREG’s weather experts reported heat index values hovered around 105 that day.

It’s unclear how long she was outside. MAS stated there will be an “internal and external” review and vowed to “include more shade.”

Days later, Coleman was placed on leave pending an investigation.

The focus of that investigation is “broad,” according to the mayor’s office.

“We are continuing to stabilize services there,” said Memphis Chief Operating Officer Antonio Adams at a council meeting Tuesday.

Adams and the deputy chief operating officer are currently in charge of MAS. Adams told councilmembers there is still no full time vet on staff, but they are developing a short-term plan as the investigation moves forward.

“We are going to provide the leadership to Memphis Animal Services that it deserves and needs. We are going to maybe reset,” Adams said.

Some council members said they are eager for answers.

“The word you used was reset. Our Memphis Animal Services is in a hot mess right now,” Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton responded.

It seems some answers could come sooner than later.

“If you don’t mind, could you bring us back a plan? A current state of where we are. Director Coleman is still on leave. Where we are with vets, medicine, supplies?” Councilman Phillip Spinosa requested for their next meeting.

WREG has been reaching out to Coleman since June 6 to speak to him. We tried contacting him again after he was placed on leave.

We will continue to push for answers and let you know what we find out.