Keeping Pets & People Together

When Chance arrived at our doors, he was in pain. This poor pup had suffered from lifelong ear infections and a painful condition that caused his eyelashes to scratch the surface of his eyes. With your support, we were able to change his life:
“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.” ~ Dr. Cormier who performed Chance’s lifechanging surgery
We are so grateful for your support. Together we’ve helped over 40,000 in the past year. Thank you to those who have already made an early donation to help sustain all the Second Chance programs that pets rely on for 2022. If you would like to help, please consider a donation today.
Give the gift of a ‘second chance’
From now through December 7th, 2021, visit Double the Donation’s matching gift search. You can easily see if your company will match your donation and access the forms, guidelines, and instructions you need to submit your matching gift.
Even if your employer doesn’t offer a matching gift, here are two more ways to increase the impact of your gift on Giving Tuesday:
Donate to our Global Giving Project to Keep Pets Out of Shelters. Global Giving is offering a $1,000,000 incentive fund for all donations (up to $2,500 per individual donations) made throughout the day on Giving Tuesday. The more we raise on November 30th, the more Second Chance can earn, so we can help even more pets. We need $3,752 to reach our goal to help keep 200 pets out of shelters and with the people they love.
Facebook is also offering to match donations made through Facebook begining at 8am. Beacuse of the popularity of this program, the $8 million goes very fast so if you want to take advantage of this method to increase your impact, be ready to hit the final submit button right at 8am Eastern Time.
We are humbled by this show of support and so proud of all the employees and volunteers who help make Second Chance possible.
Please join us for the Grand Opening of Second Chance’s Southbridge Community Veterinary Hospital & Bay Path Veterinary Education Center at Second Chance.
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 NewsletterDixie 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.”