Animal Lovers Applaud New Shelter Groundbreaking

The city of Palm Springs is letting everyone know about its new state-of-the-art animal shelter.

It’s taken 14 long years to get past the planning stage, but as contractors get set to work, the project also also needs a lot more money to see it fully realized.

It can be heart-breaking to see the conditions in which the shelter animals exist. Palm Springs City Councilwoman, Ginny Foat, says “It’s so overloaded with cats and dogs. We have five dogs to a kennel that should have one or two.”

The cinder-block shelter was built in the early 1960’s. Inside, urine, pools on the concrete.

It’s so noisy in the main kennel run, you can’t hear anything else, and there are few options for taking the animals out for a walk, or to see how a potential pet would interact with your family.

Dr. Doug Kunx, President of the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter says, “We have some of these dogs that stay in the back of their cage. Somebody needs to be walking these dogs every day. But this shelter doesn’t lend itself to that.”

The thinking on what an animal shelter should be– has changed over the years.

A vacant lot at the east end of Demuth Park, is where the city is planning to replace its current 6,500 square-foot shelter with a much roomier 19,000 square foot facility.

The new shelter is designed to be low-stress, featuring better air circulation, sealed easy-to-clean floors, and an outdoor area where animals can be walked away from all the others.

Stephen Boyd with Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter says “There will be private rooms like living rooms where you can bring the family, another pet, to see how they get along before you take a dog or cat home.”

There will also be a vet clinic, a education room and a retail center for fund raising.

A $5 million dollar construction bond, and some generous private donations are getting the work started, but they need another 1.5 million dollars to see this project completed in a little over a year’s time.

Kunz says, “I think we mentioned the fact we need more money. We can’t say that enough.”

Wednesday’s half-hour ground breaking ceremony is set for 9am, just across the street from the east end of Demuth park at the corner of Mesquite and Vella.

For more information on the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, and for donation information, click here.