Second Chance Animal Services is proud to announce the expansion of its veterinary team and the addition of new programs aimed at tackling the root causes of animal suffering and surrender. This strategic move underscores Second Chance’s commitment to saving more lives by addressing issues before they lead to surrender or abandonment.

As part of this expansion, Second Chance is adding more veterinarians to its team, enabling the organization to offer increased access to affordable veterinary care, preventive services, and essential resources like pet food pantries. These efforts are designed to keep pets healthy and in their homes, reducing the need for them to be surrendered to shelters.

“While adoptions are a critical aspect of animal welfare, they address the problem after it has occurred,” said Sheryl Blancato, CEO of Second Chance Animal Services. “Our focus is on prevention—keeping pets out of shelters in the first place by addressing the root causes of their suffering and surrender.”

Key Benefits of the Root Cause Approach:

 – Prevention Over Reaction: By offering affordable veterinary care and essential resources, Second Chance prevents issues that often lead to surrender, such as financial hardship or lack of access to medical care. This proactive approach saves more lives by reducing the number of animals that end up in shelters.

– Keeping Families Together: Financial constraints are a leading cause of pet surrender. Second Chance’s expanded services help families maintain their pets, preventing the emotional trauma of separation and ensuring pets remain in loving homes.

– Reducing Shelter Overcrowding: Addressing the root causes of surrender helps reduce the number of animals entering shelters, alleviating overcrowding and improving the chances of successful adoptions for those animals that do need new homes.

– Comprehensive Care for Lifelong Well-being: The addition of more veterinarians allows Second Chance to provide continuous care, ensuring that pets remain healthy throughout their lives, which in turn reduces the likelihood of surrender.

– Community Outreach Impact and Education: Second Chance’s programs providing services directly in the community such as vaccine clinics help to prevent disease.  Second Chance’s educational program in schools help to teach children about safety around pets and responsible pet ownership, the importance of preventive care, and the resources available. This education is also provided at community outreach events to give pet owner this knowledge which empowers the community to make informed decisions, reducing the likelihood of future surrenders and promoting a culture of care and compassion.

– Breaking the Cycle of Surrender: By addressing financial and health challenges at their source, Second Chance is breaking the cycle of surrender, ensuring that pets stay in stable, loving homes where they can thrive.

– Long-Term Cost Savings: Preventing surrenders through affordable care is more cost-effective than rehoming surrendered animals, allowing Second Chance to allocate more resources toward expanding these life-saving programs.

– Holistic Animal Welfare: This expanded approach reflects a holistic model of animal welfare, focusing not just on rescuing and rehoming animals but also on ensuring that pets in homes stay healthy and cared for.

Transforming Lives, One Pet at a Time

The expansion of services and the addition of veterinary staff are central to Second Chance’s new “Transforming Lives: One Pet at a Time” campaign. This initiative is designed to raise awareness and funds to support the organization’s efforts to tackle the root causes of animal suffering. Through this campaign, Second Chance aims to engage donors and the community in creating a sustainable model of animal welfare that ensures more pets live long, healthy, and happy lives with their families.

“We’re excited to be at the forefront of innovative animal welfare solutions,” added Blancato. “Our expanded programs and services are a testament to our commitment to saving lives in a more effective and compassionate way.”

DONATE

Second Chance Animal Services, 111 Young Road, East Brookfield, MA 01515

Second Chance broke all previous records by assisting 49,036 pets in living healthier lives in 2023. As we commemorates our 25th anniversary this year, we want to express our gratitude to our dedicated team of volunteers, supporters, and staff who have demonstrated exceptional resilience in a year marked by challenges, rising to address the growing needs of pets within the community.

Second Chance stands unwavering in our commitment to preserving the bond between pets and their owners. We strive to keep pets in their homes whenever possible through accessible and affordable full-service veterinary care, a pet food pantry program ensuring no pet goes hungry, and adoption services for homeless pets.

In a year of widespread challenges, the demand for assistance has been significant. Through innovative programs and strategic partnerships, we are actively addressing the root causes of pet surrender and homelessness. Last year,  Second Chance veterinary hospitals provided assistance to more pets at subsidized rates than ever before, and the pet food pantry program saw record distributions to meet requests from local human food pantries. Additionally, Second Chance serves as an emergency partner for various agencies, responding to natural disasters and aiding pets rescued from unimaginable living conditions.

Second Chance is committed to expanding services to meet the rising needs and is actively hiring at all hospital locations to extend our reach and assist more pets in need.

Our mission to advocate for pets in need is ongoing. We must continue to fight for their well-being. For those looking to contribute to Second Chance’s vital work, donations can be made online or by mail to Second Chance, PO Box 136, East Brookfield, MA 01515.

Pictured above is 11-month-old Omari, who found himself at Second Chance through no fault of his own and is waiting to find his forever home.