News from: Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez

The Coachella Valley Animal Campus reopened Friday morning, following the work done by the City of Cathedral City to clear storm water off Rio Del Sol Road and lift the road closure.

Following Hurricane Hilary, Rio Del Sol, a Cathedral City road that provides access to the county’s and several valley cities’ animal shelter, the nonprofit Animal Samaritans’ veterinary clinic and local businesses in Thousand Palms, was submerged under several feet of water, approximately the length of a football field for two blocks. For nearly two weeks, the shelter was closed to the public and county staff had to off-road across desert to care for pets in the shelter.

The heavily-flooded Rio Del Sol was cleared Thursday by the City of Cathedral City, which has spent over $1 million on its clean-up and recovery efforts.

Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and Erin Gettis, director of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, welcome the progress achieved by this key road opening, which was important for the dogs and cats at the shelter, county staff, to the county’s nonprofit partner Animal Samaritans and local businesses, and the greater Coachella Valley community whose animal control services also require the shelter to be accessible.

Erin Gettis, Director of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, states, “Special thanks to the help from the City of Cathedral City, the Riverside County Emergency Management Department, Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District and all the Coachella Valley Animal Campus staff who have spent long hours shuttling staff to the shelter, caring for animals, hosting an off-site adoption event last weekend and vaccine clinic Thursday. I am proud of our resiliency when faced with unplanned impacts and challenges and appreciate the team effort!”

The Coachella Valley Animal Campus thanks the entire community and its partners for the generous support, help in adopting pets and care for our shelter pets in weathering this recent storm.

The Coachella Valley Animal Campus is located in Thousand Palms, 72-050 Pet Land Place. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The campus will be closed Monday, September 4 in observance of Labor Day.