Updated
San Diego, CA
San Diego Humane Society planning $11M animal hospital to provide low-cost care to pet owners
Seeking to provide more affordable care for pet owners in the region, the San Diego Humane Society plans to expand a 500-square-foot clinic at its Morena campus into an $11 million full-service animal hospital, envisioning a summer or fall 2027 opening.
Officials say the project, to be funded entirely by donors, will include space for a high-volume spay/neuter clinic and an area to house dogs that have been surrendered or picked up by humane officers. It will be inside a Gaines Street building that the nonprofit acquired in 2020 along with five other buildings it had previously leased.
The Humane Society plans to triple its vet staffing for the hospital, which will provide dental care, surgeries and emergency services, as well as routine care. The goal is to expand affordable care options in the region, recognizing that some people surrender their pets, or even euthanize them, because they can’t afford veterinary care.
The University of California Davis is also building a new animal hospital in San Diego, expected to open later this year.
The additions come amid a persistent shortage of veterinarians in California and beyond.
Dr. Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society, said officials have discussed building the Community Veterinary Hospital for years. About $3 million has been raised for the project so far.
Several factors are making veterinary care unattainable for some, including a shortage of veterinarians and the high cost of services. Vet offices that do exist may not be able to schedule appointments quickly, while some pet owners live in “veterinary deserts” with no clinics or hospitals nearby, Weizman said.
“Access to care is becoming more and more challenging for most people with their animals,” Weitzman said. “That’s the opposite of what we want to see.”
Emergency hospitals can help fill the gap, he said, but often are too expensive for pet owners.
On its website, the Humane Society describes its community veterinary program as low-cost care that is accessible to pet families who need it most. “By providing affordable, compassionate and exceptional veterinary care to San Diego community members, we help keep pets out of shelters and with the people who love and need them,” the site says. In recent years, the nonprofit has grappled with record numbers of dogs in its shelters.
Weitzman said building the community veterinary hospital will require extensive fundraising, not only for the construction but to pay for staffing.
Officials expect it will cost about $5 million a year to run the hospital and will look at creating endowments to pay for positions. “This will definitely be a financially involved program,” he said. “But I think it’s really game-changing for the Humane Society and for the region.”
Those interested in contributing can email donate@sdhumane.org.
A decade ago, Weitzman said he would have expected private vet practices to oppose the project. Instead, he said, those providers are increasingly sending animals needing care to the Humane Society because their owners cannot pay clinic fees.
“Ten years ago, there definitely would have been concern among my private practice colleagues,” he said. “As of COVID times, there has been no concern whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the opposite — we get referrals from private practices because they don’t want to have to resort to ‘economic euthanasia.’”
The Humane Society is able to charge lower fees because its work is supported by philanthropic gifts, he said.
“What we want to do is provide urgent care that (allows) people to come in and not have to get a second mortgage to get care for their animal,” he said.
The Humane Society began its community veterinary program in 2022, with services initially provided from a mobile clinic. In the summer of 2023, the clinic moved into the Gaines Street space, although mobile clinics are still used on a scaled-back basis, spokesperson Nina Thompson said.
The Humane Society’s website says those eligible for services at the clinic include pet owners with an annual household income under $70,000 or people enrolled in federal or state assistance programs or receiving unemployment benefits. However, clinic staff do not ask for documentation when people show up for appointments.
“If you have a vet that you’re going to now, and you can afford those fees, please stay with your private practice. We’re here for people who can’t get in, and that’s really the purpose of the program,” said Weitzman, a veterinarian who works at the clinic one day a week. “We really just want to be there to solve a problem.”
Beyond the animal hospital project, the Humane Society has worked with a coalition of animal groups to seek legislative changes designed to expand veterinary care options. One new law now in effect allows registered veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants to perform any medical task not expressly prohibited by law. A second bill allows registered veterinary technicians to give vaccines and parasite control measures in shelters without requiring a supervising veterinarian to be on site.
There are other steps being taken to expand veterinary care in San Diego County.
UC Davis is building a state-of-the-art medical center in University City that will offer specialty care, create veterinary teaching and training opportunities, and facilitate clinical research studies.
According to its website, the Janice K. Hobbs UC Davis Veterinary Medical Center Southern California will feature “a pharmacy and dedicated suites for radiography, cardiology, surgery, medical oncology, 24/7 emergency and critical care (ER/ICU) and nephrology/urology.” It is expected to open later this year in a business park on Shoreham Place.
The new facility will take the place of a 3,000-square-foot medical center run by the university in Sorrento Valley in operation for more than 20 years. The new hospital will be eight times the size of the current facility.
UC Davis is also working to expand the number of veterinarians in its training pipeline. It has pledged to expand the number of doctor of veterinary medicine students enrolled from 600 to 800, adding 50 additional students per class beginning in 2029. The university also plans to build a new veterinary education pavilion on campus.
“We are the premier veterinary school in the country and California is facing a veterinary shortage, so with public and donor support we are committed to meeting the needs of the state’s pet parents, agricultural producers, animal shelters and other care providers,” Tom Hinds, a UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine spokesperson, said in a statement.
Why this matters
Located in neighborhoods across the county, community gardens seek to provide resources and educational opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
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Tucked into neighborhoods, schoolyards and park edges, community gardens have woven themselves into the fabric of San Diego.
Many are established in food deserts – areas that lack access to affordable and nutritious food. For predominantly low-income and racially diverse communities, a local garden plot can be the difference between having fresh produce or none at all.
Beyond the food, community gardens have become gathering places where social bonds across generations and languages form and environmental education can flourish. From elementary school students to senior citizens, people of all ages are able to tend to plants or participate in community activities hosted onsite.
San Diego County has more than 80 community gardens, according to the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County. Most of them are managed by churches, nonprofits or local volunteers.
However, funding may be running short. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act led the county to cancel contracts related to CalFresh Healthy Living in October 2025, as previously reported by inewsource. Community gardens were one of the lifestyle programs impacted by these cuts.
Nonprofit leaders have also sounded the alarm about federal cuts causing funding instability that could impact their community programs.
But there are still ways for the community to get involved. Here’s a map maintained by the Master Gardener Association that shows dozens of gardens around the county.
inewsource asked Heather Holland, president of the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County, and Julia Rauner Guerrero, the organization’s community garden chair, to talk about the basics of community gardens.
Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Community gardens vary based on who owns the land but most gardens are spaces where renters of the garden beds have access during set hours. Most gardens have events or times where they open their doors to the public.
Community gardens are spaces where the public can garden or learn about gardening together. There are a few categories of community gardens that could be grouped this way:
- Gardens that include beds or spaces that can be rented for growing.
- Gardens that grow food that is donated to others.
- Gardens that act as learning spaces so the public can learn how to garden together.
- Semi-public spaces where someone from an area (as in a resident of an HOA) can garden in a space.
Most of San Diego’s community gardens fall into one of those categories and often include several of these characteristics. On our community garden map we’ve focused on gardens with individual or shared/cooperative plots, some of which also incorporate education and/or food sharing with the community.
No, generally there isn’t any registration with the county and the cities operate under different rules. Community gardens located on public land have different approaches dictated by their city. For example, in the city of San Diego nonprofit groups can apply to the city to use parks and recreation land for a community garden.
Community gardens are operated by a mix of persons depending on who is running the site. In most cases it is a church, a nonprofit or a group of volunteers who manage the space. A few San Diego cities such as Imperial Beach, Carlsbad and La Mesa oversee their gardens and in other cases the County of San Diego directly operates the community gardens on their property.
Volunteer at your nearby community garden to get a feel for the garden, the people and the management.
Type of Content
Explainer: Provides context or background, definition and detail on a specific topic.
San Diego, CA
Where to watch San Diego Padres vs Seattle Mariners: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 16
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.
We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Saturday as the San Diego Padres visit the Seattle Mariners.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is San Diego Padres vs Seattle Mariners?
First pitch between the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, May 16.
How to watch San Diego Padres vs Seattle Mariners on Saturday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 6:32 a.m.
- Matchup: SD at SEA
- Date: Saturday, May 16
- Time: 7:15 p.m. (ET)
- Venue: T-Mobile Park
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- TV: FOX
- Streaming: MLB.TV on Fubo
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for May 16 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
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