Desert Hot Springs has high hopes for new Desert Community Animal Center
Kendall Flynn
DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The City of Desert Hot Springs in partnership with the Greater Palm Springs Animal Allies is opening its new Desert Community Animal Center Wednesday for all residents.
The City has not had a veterinary clinic since 2018, and pet owners had to travel far distances in a time or need or emergencies. Longtime resident Peter Carlson said this has been difficult to do, and he’s been waiting for a local clinic.
“We’ve not really had anything here, we’ve had to go to Thousand Palms, Palm Springs [and] Beaumont,” Carlson said. “We know we can come here and get the care for our family members. They kind of really are for us, so it’s about time.”
The animal center will provide low-cost services to all guests, which the Greater Palm Springs Animal Allies Executive Director Dan Rossi said was an important aspect of bringing it to the local community.
“Our services will be affordable,” Rossi said. “They’ll be on a sliding scale to help anybody depending on their income level.”
Desert Hot Springs Mayor Scott Matas said it will fill the needs of everyone in the community, including his own as a pet owner. Officials are unsure of how many animals they’re expecting to see at the facility, but they do anticipate being busy.
Matas also hopes the center will help with the City’s greater need for upgrades for its Animal Care and Control services. Desert Hot Springs announced this week on social media it will be slowly making changes to the care and control programs by creating a new strategy for pet adoptions.
While the animal center is not directly affiliated with either of the City’s Animal Care and Control facilities, officials hope the low-cost spay and neuter services will help reduce stray population and overall aiding the shelters cause.
“When it comes to your animals, just make sure that they’re spayed and neutered – they’re chipped” Mayor Matas said. “You have those opportunities here in Desert Hot Springs now to get that done at a very low cost rate that helps us control the population.”
DHS residents agree with this sentiment and hope it will also influence people to adopt pets from their local sanctuaries.
“Hopefully with this facility here and our animal shelter here, people will know that they have a place to bring a rescue,” Carlson said. “I think that knowing there’s a facility right next door that they can bring whatever animal they adopted, maybe they’re more likely to adopt.”
Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from residents and officials on what this new animal center bring to Desert Hot Springs.