Animal Samaritans, which is just two years shy of its 50th anniversary in 2028, continues to fill a vital need in the Coachella Valley.
The 501(c)(3) organization began by offering the first free humane education program and low-cost spay and neuter clinic to the region, with a goal of eliminating the suffering and abuse of homeless and unwanted animals.
That quest continues today, but amidst greater challenges—from animal overcrowding to power access for new projects.
“Affordable spay and neutering is important here with so much overpopulation and overcrowding in shelters, not just locally, but across the country and state,” said Tom Snyder, Executive Director of Animal Samaritans. “We have a rescue program with a full-time employee who works at the public shelter next door to us, the largest in our community, and they’re constantly overcrowded.
“All their satellite shelters throughout Riverside County are constantly overcrowded,” he added. “It’s a real issue.”
A recent grant via the Albert and Anna Herdina Memorial Fund through the Inland Empire Community Foundation helps significantly, especially for low-income individuals with animals in need of veterinary care.
“The Herdina Fund has been critical to Animal Samaritans, specifically in our mission to provide affordable span neuter services to pet owners,” Snyder said. “Often, it’s senior pet owners or lower-income pet owners who want to spay or neuter their pets. They want to do the right thing, stem the tide of overpopulation, and keep the numbers in public shelters down because of overpopulation.”
Snyder also stressed that spaying and neutering pets is “at the top of the list in terms of being a responsible pet owner.”
With March—“kitten season”—upon us, he’s quick to point out that one cat can give birth to three litters here in the Coachella Valley just because of the climate.
Elsewhere, Animal Samaritans’ capital campaign is key to future success. 
“We’re moving forward with our campaign project to build a new, better, and larger pet adoption center and a humane education center here on our campus,” Snyder said. “It’s been in the news a little bit and there are challenges with the Imperial Irrigation District and their freeze on providing power to various projects.”
The organization got hit with that news last year and has been working to fast-track it so it can move forward with plans.
“The new pet adoption center will be a larger safety net for the animals and our Valley,” Snyder said. “It will help relieve overcrowding at the public shelter, and that will result in a lower euthanasia rate and higher outcomes.
“We hope that some of our partners in the community can help leverage and help us get the power we need for this new project,” he added.
The challenges appear to have sprung after the Acrisure Arena was built off 1-10 in Palm Desert.
“The word is that that project took up a lot of the power grid,” Snyder said. “What I hear is, ‘Oh, you know, the Imperial Irrigation District doesn’t have any additional power to give to projects currently in part, because that was a very big project.’”
Other reports note that some power can be made available.
“Some people say we may have to wait until these new power substations get built,” Snyder said. “But according to local news reports, that’s supposed to happen this year, around the summer, and finish up in summer 2028. We still have no certainty of when things will start and when they’ll finish.”
Regardless, Snyder and the Animal Samaritans team remain committed to their cause.
“What I love most about being here is just knowing that the organization is making a difference in the lives of animals and people,” he said. “It goes with our mission statement—improving the lives of animals and people—and it’s true. Every day, I get to see all the people doing the work, and I try to make sure my team can do the work they are good at and that they love doing.”
This story originally appeared in the Desert Sun, April, 2026.
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