Big Donation Helps Future Of New Animal Shelter

Palm Springs Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner is expected to donate $100,000 to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter at a sold-out fundraiser today.

The fundraiser at the Edris House, 1030 W. Cielo Drive, starts at 5:30 p.m.

The gift will help ensure that the shelter’s new location will be opened by the end of the summer, said Palm Springs Councilwoman Ginny Foat, a member of the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter.

The Coachella Valley-based group, Loving All Animals, also made a donation this week to the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter.

“They put the health and welfare of homeless animals first,” said Tracey Essex, the head of Loving All Animals. “I look forward to their new shelter opening, and know it will only improve the quality of care of homeless animals in the Coachella Valley.”

The Animal Legal Defense Fund is suing the city over allegations the shelter did not follow state and local laws and had an unacceptably high euthanasia rate.

The Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, the city of Palm Springs and its police department were named as defendants in the suit.

“I have no reason to believe (the lawsuit’s allegations),” Foat said. “Being intimately involved in the shelter, I have never seen anything that is remotely part of that lawsuit. You have a caring, loving group of people on the friend’s board.”

Foat said the shelter’s new home will be more than double the size of the current facility and include sustainable features that allow for better living conditions for animals.

“It’s a wonderful shelter,” Foat said. “It’s a state-of-the-art animal facility, with a veterinary clinic, and all the bells and whistles that we would expect of something in Palm Springs.”