Second Chance Welcomes Cats Evacuated from Florida Shelter

Tuesday we welcomed 10 cats evacuated to safety from a Florida shelter ahead of Hurricane Ian’s impact.

The cats, ranging in age from 10 weeks up to 4 years, arrived on an ASPCA transport plane at Worcester Regional Airport. They were greeted by our staff who brought them to the Almost Home facility in North Brookfield where the cats will get a check-up and receive any necessary veterinary care and complete their state-mandated 48-hour quarantine before they begin their search for a new home in Massachusetts.

Animal Relocation Director Wendy Hall, who was part of the team that welcomed the cats at the airport, said, “they appear in good health and will get checked over by our veterinary team prior to adoption. I expect these cats will find homes quickly.”

Second Chance founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato says that “as an ASPCA Emergency Placement Response Partner, we have been watching the storm and were expecting the call. We are so happy these cats are safe and sound, and soon they’ll begin new lives here in New England.”

Donations are being accepted to help with their care: secondchanceanimals.org/donate/ or checks can be mailed to Second Chance Animal Services, PO Box 136, East Brookfield, MA 01515.

For more information on adopting, visit Adopt a Pet.

Fall Fun Helping Pets in Need

There’s Something for Everyone!

Join us Saturday at Westview Farms Creamery (109 East Hill Road, Monson) from 10am to 3pm for a fun fall event to help pets in need. Free admission – $20 Show Car Entry Fee

Car Show
Vendor Fair
Halloween Barktacular Kids Games
Raffles
Live Music: SPARE PARTS
Pumpkin Picking
Corn Maze
Handmade Ice Cream
Delicious Food
Adorable Goats
AND MORE!

Beagle Diary

UPDATE 9/7: We are happy to report that we all the beagles (from our recent rescue transport from the VA medical breeding facility) have found homes. Due to the volume of interest we received, we are unable to reply to everyone who completed an adoption survey, but they will be on file for 2 years for future adoptions.

If you are still interested in adopting please check out the other wonderful animals waiting for forever homes!

UPDATE 8/31: Over the weekend, the beagles were able to explore and experience many firsts. You can watch as two beagles roam freely outside on our Facebook page. Meanwhile, we were pouring over the hundreds of applications in search of interested adopters with the beagle experience these pups need and Monday, the adoption process began. Check out a few of the matches made. Notice the way the older beagle is looking at his new sibling:

UPDATE 8/25 6pm: Thank you for all the interest in giving one of these pups a home. At this time we have received far more adoption surveys than we have beagles. We will be reading each one and reaching out to adopters that best fit the special needs of these dogs. If you are still interested in adopting please check our website for all the other wonderful available animals, including other puppies!! https://www.secondchanceanimals.org/adoptable-dogs/

UPDATE 8/25: This morning all the beagles got a thorough check-up so we can make sure all their medical needs can be taken care of. As we suspected, they will all need to be spayed or neutered. A couple will need some additional minor medical care

UPDATE 8/24: The beagles arrived at our Almost Home transport facility yesterday around 4pm, just as much-needed rain arrived in North Brookfield. Danielle & Cheyanne brought them in two by two, to get them settled in for the night. They’ll spend the next 48 hours here, completing their state-mandated quarantine and will receive all needed medical care as they are prepared for adoption. All their lives, they’ve been known only by the tattoo on their ears. By the end of today, each will have a name to start their new life with.

Click the button below to to make a gift to help prepare these beagle for their new lives.

8/23: Second Chance CEO and Founder Sheryl Blancato and transport facility staff member Danielle are currently en route to Second Chance’s Almost Home Transport facility with 20 beagles rescued from the Envigo RMS LLC in Cumberland, VA by the Humane Society of the United States.

The beagles will their state-mandated 48-hour quarantine and receive any needed medical care before they are available for adoption. Donations are gratefully accepted to help provide their medical care as they are prepared for adoption,

Help RAISE the ROOF for Homeless Pets

EXCITING NEWS: a group of anonymous supporters has come together with an offer to MATCH the next $20,000 to make all three roofs over homeless pets a reality. Now is the perfect time to consider a gift to help Raise the Roof.

Campaign to RAISE the ROOF

You can provide comfort and hope to a homeless pet with your gift to the $85,000 capital campaign to replace the roofs over the heads of homeless pets as they wait for their ‘second chance.’ Funds raised will replace the roofs on the Adoption Center and the Almost Home transport facility in addition to replacing the aging high-top transport vehicle. These facilities see thousands of animals every year and we need to make sure that we keep our facilities in top form to welcome the many pets that need our help.

These three roofs represent the journey that many animals make on their road to a better life. Pets that come through transport are brought to us with the high-top transit and spend their first 48 hours at the Almost Home transport facility in North Brookfield for their state-mandated quarantine. Here animals get a check-up and any necessary care in the adjacent hospital. Finally, they go to the Adoption Center in East Brookfield in search of a home. This journey is vital to help the animals that need our help.

The total for cost is estimated at $85,000. Thanks to the generosity of supporters so far, we have begun work on the Adoption Center roof where homeless pets from our community and beyond can find their fur-ever homes. Your gift can help make all 3 roofs a reality!

UPDATE: Perla is Recovering Well after Surgery

UPDATE: Perla did wonderful! She is recovering really well. One of our vet techs took her home overnight to give her some extra love and care. We are so grateful for all the well-wishes and support for this girl and all our shelter pets. Thank you!

It’s not too late to make a gift to help Perla and shelter pets just like her get the urgent care they need. We couldn’t do it without you!

We need to get help quickly for this girl. Perla was surrendered through a local animal control officer (ACO). She has a badly fractured leg and the ACO has turned the 1 y/o over to Second Chance so she can get the help she needs. X-rays reveal a complicated fracture of both the tibia and fibula that cannot be repaired. She also has an open wound on her ankle. We kept her as comfortable as we could overnight. Today our vets hope to perform an amputation so we can get her on the road to recovery and her ‘second chance.’

Perla did great overnight. She is a very sweet, happy girl. She will likely be going to surgery within the next two hours or so. We will update you once she’s out of surgery.

We’re asking for help. With all the shelter pets we are seeing who need extensive medical care, we would greatly appreciate any help if you are able – your support will help Perla and pets like her get the urgent care they need.

Finian Overcoming his Past and Ready for His Second Chance!

Finian was just 25 lbs when he came to us, severely malnourished, dehydrated and anemic. He had been eating anything he could, just to survive and was living in extremely harsh conditions when he was seized by local law enforcement and signed over to Second Chance. He weighed only 25 pounds when a dog his size should be 45 pounds. He also tested positive for heartworm, Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, but we had to focus on getting his weight up slowly so we don’t make him sicker after not eating a good diet for so long.

He’s made great strides and last week he came in for his first immiticide treatment for heartworm. He did great. And he is over 40 lbs!!

He got love from everyone at the hospital and was excited to see all of us. We are so grateful for all the support to make his second chance possible. THANK YOU!

He LOVES to play ball and is looking for his forever home. To learn more, visit: secondchanceanimals.org/adoptable-dogs/

Time Magazine spotlights Second Chance – “How America Saved Millions of Pets—By Moving Them”

“The dusty white cargo plane stood out among the gleaming corporate jets, as did its passengers: 48 barking dogs, newly arrived at the private air terminal at Hanscom Field, outside of Boston.

They had left Mississippi that morning with their health certificates taped to their kennels. All week, the staff at Oktibbeha County Humane Society (OCHS), in Starkville, Miss., had been getting them ready, giving them their shots, testing their temperaments, and color-coding each crate for its destination: red for Second Chance Animal Services in North Brookfield, Mass.”

Read journalist Andrew Blum’s “How America Saved Millions of Pets-By Moving Them”

Adopter Beware – How to Avoid Unknowingly Supporting a Puppy Mill

Advice from Second Chance Founder & CEO Sheryl Blancato

Maybe you have your heart set on a Golden Retriever or a French Bulldog. You’ve been visiting your local shelter and shelter websites with no luck. In fact, there’s not as many pets to choose from as there were a few years ago and you wonder how you’ll ever find your new furry family member.

Animal transports are not a new thing, but with so few pets locally surrendered to shelters here in New England, the practice has greatly increased. How do you know that the pet you are getting is not from a puppy mill?

As with everything, opportunity sometimes fosters a negative side. Transporting pets from overcrowded shelters where they are at risk of euthanasia to shelters in areas where families are waiting to adopt is a wonderful thing. It saves so many lives. Local pets should always be the first priority, but when that number has declined to a point that a shelter or rescue has room to help pets from other states too, it is a good way to save more lives.

Prospective pet owners need to be careful though. There are people out there posing as rescues when they are not. In animal welfare, there are lots of names for them like “puppy flippers.” There are flags to watch out for and alert you to do further investigation. If you live in Massachusetts and you find a pet online that you want to adopt, beware if they will only meet you in Connecticut or somewhere else over the border. That tells you that they are not registered in the state of Massachusetts. There is a mandatory 48-hour quarantine requirement for all pets entering Massachusetts from other states. They may be trying to avoid that and once they leave the drop off site, you can be left on your own if the pet gets sick. You can find legitimate, registered organizations listed on the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources website.

There is also a growing trend of people bringing puppies into the state without health certificates and claiming that they raised the puppies. These pets may actually be from puppy mills. You should always ask to see the parents of the puppies, or at the very least the mom. If they refuse, beware. If they have several different breeds available, that should also be a red flag warranting further investigation. Reputable breeders usually only breed one or two breeds. They do it to further the bloodline of their beloved breed. They care deeply about the offspring and will often require a contract before you can take one of their pups home.

We all need to be sure that when we are adopting a pet that we are helping that pet and not supporting a puppy mill. We need to be sure that transporting is done safely for the pets and not putting them at risk. There are best practices that all shelters and rescues follow when bringing pets in from out of state. A truck on the side of the road, tightly packed floor to ceiling with crates and poor airflow who are handing out pets to those that have cash is not one of them. Let’s all work together to ensure that all pets are safe and that we don’t unknowingly support the practice of puppy mill operations.

#BettyWhiteChallenge

Betty White was a true friend to animals, making the world a better place for animals of all kinds. The #BettyWhiteChallenge encourages animal lovers and Betty White lovers to make a donation to an animal shelter in honor of what would have been her 100th birthday.

We are humbled to honor her legacy of animal advocacy. Every donation to Second Chance made in her name will benefit our Homebound to the Rescue program. This program helps keep seniors and their beloved pets together by providing veterinary services on-site at no cost to low-income senior housing areas. This helps the elderly keep their pets healthy and up to date on vaccines.

Homebound to the Rescue relies entirely on donations and grants, and is made possible in part by the Banfield Foundation. Donations in Betty’s name will help bring this program to help keep more pets and their beloved owners together. Thank you.

Challenge gifts can also be made on our Facebook Fundraiser or by mail to: #BettyWhiteChallenge, Second Chance Animal Services, PO Box 136, East Brookfield, MA 01515.

Keeping Pets & People Together

Charlie is his dad’s whole world. When his wife died seven years ago, his granddaughter got him a puppy (Charlie) to keep him company. Charlie developed a large mass on his thigh that couldn’t easily be removed and initial testing suggested it was malignant. A beloved pet’s serious illness or injury can wreak havoc on a senior budget, but Second Chance and Pets for the Elderly are committed to keeping pets and the people they love together whenever possible.

Dad opted to amputate his limb to give him the best chance of survival. When he picked Charlie up from surgery he said he was going to bring him home and they were going to watch Charlie’s favorite show tonight. It has dogs and cats on it that he likes to bark at. Charlie’s owner tells us he is doing wonderfully and already walking around on his own!

We are grateful to Pets for the Elderly and to all the generous supporters who help keep pets and people together.

Want to help?

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