NORTH BROOKFIELD, Mass. – Second Chance Animal Services is prioritizing critical and emergency care services amid a national shortage of veterinarians.
Day after day, a similar scene plays out. Our veterinarians and vet techs go about their day, seeing pets for checkups and sick visits, or performing scheduled surgeries while reception staff greet pets and pet owners and schedule future appointments. They may have plans after work, even if it’s just to put their feet up and relax. When a phone call comes in of a very sick pet, all those plans change.
It was already midafternoon recently when Second Chance received a call about a dog that couldn’t pee due to a blockage of stones. An emergency facility had temporarily unblocked him, but this was just a temporary fix. Without immediate surgery the dog would suffer in pain, unable to pee, and die. Emergency hospitals are stretched to the limit, just like the owner’s budget. Second Chance was this dog’s only chance.
Suddenly those afterwork plans changed. Schedules were quickly shifted. A vet and two surgery techs agreed to extend their already long day to perform the surgery after their regular day ended.
The dog arrived late afternoon and was prepped for surgery. The surgery began and it didn’t take long to see that the dog was a lot sicker than originally thought. There weren’t just a few stones…there were hundreds of tiny stones. The expected one- to two-hour surgery continued for nearly five hours. Exhausted, the team plugged along. The vet carefully removed the stones while the surgery techs monitored the dog’s vital signs.
The hospital director had left for the day just as the surgery began, expecting the staff to be there just a couple of hours. When the surgery continued into the night, she left her family to provide support. She picked up snacks and Chinese food on the way back to the hospital. It was now after 9 PM and the surgery had to continue, there was no stopping. They had to be sure that no stone was left behind, risking another blockage.
The surgery finally ended a little after 10 PM. Now it was time to monitor the dog’s recovery. The staff could finally sit down and have something to eat. The dog recovered well, the family was ecstatic, and the weary team headed home just before midnight.
This is not an isolated story. It happens more often than you think. This dog is alive today and with his family because three staff members gave up their time and their plans to save a life. I am in awe of the work our staff does at our hospitals and adoption center every day, going above and beyond when necessary to help a pet in need if possible.
Last month, we adjusted the surgery schedule at our largest vet hospital in North Brookfield in response to the current emergency veterinary care crisis that’s affecting pets in Massachusetts and across the country. We reduced spay and neuter surgery capacity to allow our doctors to provide critical care and surgeries, saving an average of 25 pets every week. While spay and neuter services are temporarily limited at this location, our Springfield and Worcester hospitals are running at full capacity.
Mutt Matters and Cat Chatters – catch up on all things Second Chance with our Summer 2021 Newsletter
Aug 2021 Newsletter
Dixie was just four months old when she was adopted from Second Chance. Despite a positive meet and greet with her new 3-year-old sister Dakota, things got off to a rocky start. “There were several issues in the beginning with puppy curiousness and not knowing personal space.” Their owners kept a close eye to make sure things didn’t get out of hand.
“I’m told it was the puppy finding her place in the family…In the beginning I was so close to bringing Dixie back because I didn’t think it was fair to her for us to be so focused or controlling of them playing…I loved her to pieces and didn’t want to. I made the appointment to return her but arriving there, getting ready to hand over her leash, that look she gave me…I just couldn’t.
Now 10 months later they are inseparable…Dixie follows her sister Dakota everywhere…They have fun playing & when Dakota has had enough she has this bed- we call it the ‘I’m done, time to take a break bed’ – she goes there, lays down & Dixie is right beside her, which is fine for both of them apparently. So we all ended up living happily ever after! I’m so glad I gave it more time…I couldn’t imagine her not being part of the family.”
Regular Hours:
MONDAY 10 am – 3 pm
TUESDAY 10 am – 3 pm
WEDNESDAY 10 am – 3 pm
THURSDAY 10 am -3 pm & 5-7 pm
FRIDAY 10 am – 3 pm
SAT 11 am – 4 pm
CLOSED ON SUNDAY
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.
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With the lifting of state COVID restrictions, Second Chance is excited to welcome everyone back inside our facilities. For everyone’s comfort, we have a few temporary rules as we adjust and staff members complete vaccinations.
-Masks will be required in animal adoption rooms and lobbies (due to confined spaces)
-Please continue to observe social distancing when possible.
-All potential adopters must fill out our adoption survey so we can better help you find the right pet.
-During high visitor times, we use a number system to hold your place in line. We assist as many people as we have staff to accommodate. This allows us to give you a better, personalized experience by having a dedicated adoption counselor.
-Adoptions are on a first come, first serve basis.
Starting Tuesday, June 1st, pet owners will once again be able to accompany pets for office visits.
-Masks will be required in exam rooms and lobbies (due to confined spaces)
-We ask that you limit visitors to two pet owners in a room at one time
-Please continue to observe social distancing when possible. (If there are too many people in the lobby, you may be asked to wait outside)
Curbside service will continue to be available for pet owners who wish to remain in their cars while their pet is brought inside for exams.
Our weekly vaccine clinics are now exclusively by pre-registration – eliminating lines and long waits and allowing us to help more pets. Pet owners will remain outside while their pet is brought inside for registered treatments and promptly returned.
To help get your pet caught up on their vaccines, we are holding additional mobile vaccine clinics in Dudley & Southbridge on June 7th and 28th. At this time we are accepting registration for June 7th – you must pre-register to attend.
Woofy’s Grooming: Monday June 7th ~ 9AM to Noon
17 W Main Street, Dudley
Pre-Register for Woofy’s Mobile Veterinary Clinic
*NEW LOCATION* Southbridge Community Veterinary Hospital Parking Lot: Monday June 7th ~ 1PM to 3PM
700 Worcester Street, Southbridge
Pre-Register for Southbridge Mobile Veterinary Clinic
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: