Inland Empire’s first emergency animal clinic finds new home after 43 years

Soon after Terry McDuffee graduated from veterinary school more than 40 years ago, he saw a handful of intrepid doctors begin opening up after-hours animal clinics in Southern California.

“Back then, if you had an emergency you had to wait until the next day or if it happened over the weekend, you would wait until the following Monday,” he said.

After working at some of the first emergency clinics, including one in El Monte which is still in operation today, McDuffee decided to open one of his own.

“I felt it was an idea whose time has come,” said McDuffee during a recent interview.

After checking his options, he settled on a location in Grand Terrace, and on July 3, 1974, McDuffee and his partner, Dr. Terry Maltz, opened the Animal Emergency Clinic at 12022 La Crosse Avenue.

“At that time, we were the only one in the area,” he said. “We had emergencies coming from Hemet and Riverside, Rialto and even as far as Barstow.”

For 43 years, the clinic would open its doors when traditional veterinarians would be closed. They would open at 6 p.m. and remain open until 8 a.m. the following day.

Over the years, other after-hour clinics have sprung up, but the Animal Emergency Clinic continued to serve the residents of the area.

Grand Terrace council member Bill Hussey has been bringing his family pets to the clinic for more than 30 years.

“We brought our first dalmatian here in 1990,” Hussey said. “He’s a godsend and the clinic is always open for any of our animals.”

But recently, McDuffee and his current partner, Dr. Jim Hardesty, were forced to move from their long-time location following the approval of the Barton Road Bridge widening project which was needed to accommodate the widening of the 215 Freeway.

Unable to stay at their location, McDuffee and Hardesty scrambled to find a new building, but they were quickly running out of options.

Hardesty said they didn’t want to move too far from their old La Crosse Avenue location so they could keep serving their clients. At one point, the partners worried they would have to walk away from the business they’d built over the last four decades.

“But it wasn’t just about the business,” explained McDuffee. “We have staff here, we have people who depend on us.”

Then the partners said with help from the city of Grand Terrace, they were able to find a suitable location less than a mile from their old office, just over the Barton Road bridge.

On Tuesday, with city dignitaries, San Bernardino Animal Control officers and even Sherlock, the community liaison dog for the San Bernardino Police Department, on hand, McDuffee and Hardesty had their official grand opening at their new facility at 20085 Commerce Way.

“We’re glad they decided to stay,” said Edward Giroux, planning commissioner for the city after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We were here last night with one of our dogs, so we are really glad they’re here.”

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