animal, Author at Second Chance Animals

Second Chance Responds to Veterinary Care Crisis in Massachusetts

The Irony of Reducing Spays and Neuters to Save Lives

The effects of the pandemic have created a perfect storm, this time on land. As COVID-19 took hold here in Massachusetts, residents took advantage of all the extra time at home to welcome a pet into their family. While many veterinary practices were forced to reduce services or temporarily close, veterinary staff in vet hospitals determined to be there for pets embraced a new curbside procedure and quietly became the essential workers for pets across the state. Those that could worked long hours to see all the pets who needed help immediately and had nowhere else to turn. They were there for the pets that needed them, but it’s taken a toll on their spirit.

The country was already facing a veterinarian and vet tech shortage before the pandemic. Now we have more pets that need care and veterinary hospitals and practices are seeing their staff numbers dwindle due to burnout. Current wait times at some local emergency hospitals are lengthy while some other emergency hospitals have decided to temporarily or permanently close.

Second Chance Animal Services, no strangers to saving pet lives, are meeting the crisis head on with an ironic solution. We have significantly reduced the capacity of the low-cost spay and neuter program at ourNorth Brookfield Community Veterinary Hospital for the foreseeable future to help save the lives of pets in critical need.

Our colleagues at area emergency veterinary hospitals tell us they are doing their best to keep up with demand, but they are strained and operating beyond capacity. The situation is dire. Wait times often exceed 12 hours at some facilities and others have made the decision to close for the remainder of the summer.

Second Chance has significantly reduced the capacity of their low-cost spay & neuter program to do their part to help. Day after day, pet owners are bringing pets to us in critical need of emergency surgical care. Without our help, these pets would die, suffer needlessly, or be put to sleep because surgery cannot be scheduled in time to save the pet. We could not let this happen. We need to help as many pets as we can.

We ask for your patience and understanding. We have been working to alleviate the backlog of pets waiting which began in March of 2020 when spay and neuter services were suspended to conserve critical supplies that were then hard to acquire. Our spay and neuter capacity is not only back to pre-pandemic levels, but higher than pre pandemic.

We encourage pet owners to consider using the spay and neuter services at Second Chance’s Springfield or Worcester hospitals. Second Chance wants to be sure that there is surgical space to help as many pets in immediate urgent need as we can. Spay and neuter surgery is important but life-threatening critical needs must come first. We need to be here for those pets who need urgent surgeries.

Your Grooming Questions Answered

Second Chance answers the questions we hear the most about pets and grooming.

Why should my pet be groomed?

Grooming is an important aspect of healthcare for many dogs and cats, especially long-haired breeds. Pets can become at risk for skin and ear infections, urinary tract infections, pain, trouble defecating, or even develop restricted blood supply if mats become too tightly wound around limbs.

Grooming is not just important for long haired pets, however. Short-haired animals can benefit from grooming as well, but may need it less often. Groomers may be able to help identify if your pet has a problem such as a flea or tick infestation or if your pet is not grooming itself as well as it should be, which could indicate an underlying health problem.

When should I start grooming my puppy professionally?

Most professional grooming salons will begin grooming puppies and kittens at 16 weeks of age with the recommendation that they are fully vaccinated to help keep them safe when in the salon with other animals.
Getting your pet started early can help them get used to the grooming process, which makes it much easier on them and their groomer.

How often should I be getting my pet groomed?

Depending on breed, your pet may need to be groomed every 6-8 weeks. You may request the same groomer every time so that you and your pet will begin to build a relationship with your groomer who should come to understand all your pet’s quirks and preferences. It makes the experience safer and more enjoyable for everyone.
We also recommend visiting the salon between trims/baths to help your pup get used to all the sights and sounds.

How can I get my puppy used to being groomed?

Touch your pet frequently to get them used to what will happen during an actual grooming service. This can help desensitize them, making the process much easier and safer.
Top areas to handle are feet/nails, ears and face. You may try the following to help your pet get used to grooming:
- Rub/hold their feet often (use caution with cats).
- Practice holding their face still and touch around their mouth if tolerated.
- Run the bottom of an electric toothbrush around their feet & face to help them get used to the feeling & sounds of clippers & nail grinders

Is there anything I should do between salon visits?

Brush! No matter if you have a long-haired or short-haired pet, they all need brushing. Long-haired pets tend to mat very easily, especially as puppies and kittens when their fur is super fine and soft. Matting can be very painful for your pet, so frequent brushing can help reduce the chance of fur becoming matted. Don’t forget mat-prone areas behind the ears, on their backside, or around the armpits.
It’s recommended you brush your short-haired pup weekly to help keep dead hair from clogging their pores and to keep their natural oils spread evenly throughout their coat to promote shine and healthy fur.

Helping 40,000 to Live Better Lives

Second Chance was recently featured on the Bob Katzen Show’s Let’s Pay It Forward segment where Lindsay Doray shared how we help 40,000 animals every year to live better lives:

Corporations Making a Difference ~ AvaCare Medical Gives Back to Help Pets in Need

Helping 40,000 pets a year means we go through A LOT of supplies. When a company steps up to help with a supply donation, we get really excited – because it means we can help even more pets.

Lindsay & Butters check out a special delivery from AvaCare Medical

This week AvaCare Medical delivered 1,500 puppy pads to Second Chance. Aside from the obvious use – PUPPIES! – we can use these pads in all our veterinary hospitals for pre-op and post-op care. A donation like this helps us keep veterinary care affordable – and when we keep veterinary care affordable, it helps keep pets out of shelters and with the people they love.

Steven Zeldes, CEO of AvaCare Medical (one of the largest medical supplies companies in the US) says that “at AvaCare Medical, we try to give back to worthy causes, and Second Chances’ mission of giving animals a second chance really touched us. It’s our privilege to be of assistance with helping these animals!”

AvaCare’s donation is already hard at work at Second Chance, helping us provide lifesaving surgeries. AvaCare Medical has a special discount code for 10% off all puppy pads for Second Chance and their supporters: SECONDCHANCEANIMALS10.

Is your company interested in helping save lives? Contact Lindsay.doray@secondchanceanimals.org to learn more about how your company can give back with a donation.

100 Pet Challenge

You can help keep 100 pets out of shelters…and with the people they love.

One of saddest things is watching a pet owner walk out a shelter door in tears, leaving behind a bewildered and often scared pet they love, but could not afford to keep. Second Chance is more than just a shelter, providing access to affordable veterinary care, a pet food pantry program and more to help keep people and pets together.

Since the shelter was founded 22 years ago, time and again owners coming to our shelter door to say goodbye to a beloved pet told us they could not afford to keep their pet. Some could not afford veterinary bills when their pet was suddenly taken ill, others had lost a job or a spouse and could no longer provide basic care and food. For seniors on fixed incomes, veterinary care for an ill pet can quickly add up beyond their budget. Covid has wreaked havoc on many household budgets. With your help, pets can get the help they need and stay with the people they love.

Second Chance Community Veterinary Hospitals provide access to affordable veterinary care to underserved communities and brings services directly to pets in the community through the Homebound to the Rescue program and local vaccine clinics. Our pet food pantry program distributes pet food to local food pantries so no pet goes hungry.We created this special challenge for the Global Giving Accelerator. From now through April 23, our project will be vying for bonus prizes. When you make a donation through this post, you can help Second Chance secure additional funds so we can help as many pets as possible.

Ready to Adopt? Get the Inside Scoop

Adoption Center Supervisor Aimee offers advice for would-be adopters

Lately we are hearing how difficult it can be to find a pet to adopt. With people spending more time at home, pets are being adopted faster than ever before. We recognize how frustrating searching for that special new family member can be right now, so we’re here with the inside scoop on how our adoption process works.

Did you know that the adoption page of our website is live? That means the animals you see listed under our adoption pages are exactly who we have available. The moment a pet is adopted they no longer appear on the site, so we recommend checking frequently.

Small biographies are created for each animal as we learn their personalities. It is a good idea to read these biographies closely before heading to the shelter. Sometimes pets require special arrangements such as no other animals or no children, or even no beards! In these instances, we have learned what frightens a dog or cat most and will actively avoid placing the animal in a home that will cause them stress.

Adoptions are on a first-come-first-serve basis because the adoption process hinges on a face-to-face interview. We need to see everyone who will be living with the animal interact to make sure everyone gets along. Once you are in an interview area with an animal, our focus is on how the animal reacts to you. We’re hoping to see positive interaction: wiggly tail wags from the pups or purring head boops from the cats. From you we are hoping to see patience and a friendly demeanor that invites the animal’s trust. This sometimes takes a while.

If you have another dog, we do require the two animals to meet. Some animal personalities simply don’t mesh and we want to be sure both dogs get along to move forward. Nobody wants a dog fight in their home and we need to be reasonably certain of everyone’s safety.

Assuming the pet interview goes well, we do same day adoptions, so you can expect to go home with your new family member provided all requirements have been met. If you rent, we need to see proof from your landlord that you have permission to bring an animal home. The adoption survey can be done through our website or in person, and our adoption fees are based on age.

We do our best to match personalities but keep in mind that the kennel is not like a home environment for these animals. Their whole lives have turned topsy-turvy. It is going to take some time and care before their true colors begin to shine. That calm dog here in the kennel could become the most exuberant creature in your home.

We love each animal that enters our care and want to be certain they find their perfect forever home. Sometimes, however, an adoption does not work out which is why we have a lifetime return policy. If you have questions or needs after an animal goes home, please feel free to call us. If we don’t answer the phone right away, it just means we’re busy feeding or cleaning the animals in our care. Leave a message and we’ll get right back to you! We’re here to help.

This is why we do what we do…

Caring for some very special pets.

CHANCE

One-year-old Chance came to Second Chance in need of so much help. This poor pup was so uncomfortable. He was born with entropion – a genetic abnormality that made his eyelids curl in, causing hair to rub on the surface of his eyes. He was so uncomfortable. He also suffered from ear infections his whole life, which scarred his ear canals so badly that we could not even fit a q-tip into his ear canal. His ears were very painful from the scarring and recurrent ear infection.

Second Chance surgeon Dr. Kristen Cormier has been helping Chance – performing surgery to correct the entropion followed by a total ear canal ablation surgery. This TECA surgery involves the complete removal of the ear canal, leaving only the flap (pinna) to make Chance much more comfortable.

Update from Chance’s surgeon, Dr. Cormier.

“Chance went to his foster home yesterday! Before he left I went to say goodbye and he gave me his paw and held it there as a thank you 😊 It’s hard to see but it was so sweet and sincere. He is much more comfortable and playing like a puppy now.”

Chance’s surgeries were extensive but seeing this sweet dog so happy yesterday makes it all worth it and is a perfect example of why we do what we do.

TURNER

Two-year-old Turner recently came to Second Chance from an overcrowded shelter in Georgia. Dr. Jackie tells us he also suffers from entropion – his lower eyelids are curling in so hair is rubbing on the surface of his eyes. He is very sweet, despite how uncomfortable he must be.

He’s scheduled him for surgery next week so he can finally be free of pain from this condition. After recovery, he will be available for adoption.

We are so grateful to be able to help pets like Chance and Turner thanks to the support of generous donors. You can help give a pet with extensive medical needs a ‘second chance’ by making a donation today.

SECOND CHANCE RECEIVES $70,000 GRANT FROM PETSMART CHARITIES® TO HELP MORE HOMELESS PETS

GIVING SHELTER PETS THE BEST CHANCE

EAST BROOKFIELD, MA – January 27, 2021 – Second Chance Animal Services has received a $70,000 grant from PetSmart Charities to help prepare more shelter pets for adoption and ensure they are ready to find loving homes. This grant will assist in providing veterinary care to homeless pets so they can get the ‘second chance’ they deserve.

With three full-service veterinary hospitals and a transport quarantine facility, Second Chance is uniquely qualified to help at-risk homeless pets.

“We are grateful for the continued support of PetSmart Charities in our work to help pets in need,” said Second Chance Development Director Lindsay Doray. “So many pets come through our transport program after sitting in overcrowded shelters across the country. Here in Massachusetts, we have many families hoping to find a new family pet. These funds will help us to update vaccinations and provide spay neuter surgeries and veterinary care so each pet can start their new life with their new family.”

“Second Chance Animal Services continues to provide critical care to shelter pets, effectively reducing the homeless pet population and shortening their shelter stay,” said Johnny Jenkins, associate relationship manager at PetSmart Charities. ‘We are proud to support this work that will give homeless pets the best chance at finding loving homes.”

Since 1994, through its partnership with nearly 4,000 humane societies, SPCAs and pet rescues across North America, PetSmart Charities has helped more than 9.5 million pets to find loving homes via its in-store adoption program in over 1,650 PetSmart® stores. The leading funder of animal welfare has also donated nearly $430 million to positively impact communities, to help preserve families, to improve access to veterinary care and to connect people and pets through initiatives like this with Second Chance.

Second Chance helps over 40,000 pets each year through a variety of programs. For more information on Second Chance, visit www.secondchanceanimals.org.

May – A Project Good Dog Success Story

“As the coordinator for Project Good Dog at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office I have seen many dogs in need come through our door, none more frightened and shut down than May. May was a seven month old Hound mix who Second Chance rescued from an unfortunate situation that left her with extreme anxiety caused by the trauma she experienced at such a young age. May was fearful of everyone and everything. Going outdoors, just three steps down the hall, was like running a marathon for her. When she finally did get outside she would do backflips on the leash trying to get back in. We couldn’t get her to eat, to come out of her crate, to interact at all.

I was so afraid we wouldn’t be able to help her, shedding tears over this poor puppy, not knowing what to do for her. Then one day I climbed in her crate with her to say goodnight – yeah I wasn’t giving up on this girl – and Miss May gave me kisses! I was so shocked and it was at that moment I knew she would be okay.

Gradually with plenty of patience, time and consistency May came out of her shell and grew to trust us. Every small accomplishment by May made all of us at Project Good Dog so happy as we knew how difficult it was for her and how far she’d come. When she barked for the first time we all erupted in cheers. When she began to play with the other dogs we looked on in silent awe of this strong, beautiful girl. In the eleven weeks May spent at Project Good Dog she learned not only her basic commands, but how to have fun, how to trust, how to love. She learned how to truly be a dog.

Fast forward five years and May is amazing, living in her forever home with me! I just couldn’t let her go when she completed the program, I knew she needed me. As it turned out I needed her just as much. Today May is silly, quirky, affectionate and playful. She loves to go outside in her yard and she is an absolute nut for food of all kinds! May makes me laugh every day, and with her strength and resilience she has taught me so much more than I could ever teach her. I truly have no idea where May would be without Second Chance and Project Good Dog.”

Second Chance’s Project Good Dog pairs behaviorally needy shelter dogs with inmates who provide them with 24/7 care and training. They work with the dogs on socialization, basic obedience, housebreaking, and sometimes a trick or two. Not only does it provide benefits to the dogs but it also has positive results for the handlers who learn patience, compassion, responsibility. Many of the inmates say that it also gives them a focus while they transition back into the community. The training the dogs receive while in the program helps them to be more adoptable and stay in their homes. We asked the handlers how they felt about the program and the responses were all positive.

Jan 2021 Newsletter

« First ‹ Prev 12 13 141516 17 18 Next ›Last »