Odessa May Have Just One Eye, but She’s Looking Forward to the Future!

In early November, Second Chance met an underweight 6-pound chihuahua named Odessa in the Granville County animal shelter. At just 1 year old and sweet as could be, you might wonder how she ended up behind bars–and missing an eye.

Odessa lived with a family, and with several other dogs, in fact. But a good Samaritan, concerned about the well-being of the dogs, called in animal control officers to report neglect. The pack was in rough shape and all were removed from the home. Odessa in particular not only had on a too-tight collar, but she was also a one-eyed pup with an oozing left eye socket. It was apparent that her eye had not been surgically removed and that she had been missing it for some time.

While the animal control officers investigated Odessa’s former owners and prepared to press criminal charges, our volunteer, Tim, went out to the shelter to rescue Odessa. We moved her into foster care and arranged for her transport (through our Hearts to Home program) to New Jersey South Hills Pet Rescue. With the help of volunteers, she made her way north, leaving her abusers in the rearview mirror.

Odessa happily settled into her NJ foster home, where she had to wait only a short time to receive medical care for her eye socket. Before she even had surgery to permanently close it, Odessa had an adopter waiting to make her part of their loving family!

Because of our donors, we’ve been able to keep our eye on the prize throughout the challenges presented by the pandemic: give stray, abandoned, and abused animals a second chance. 

Your donations enable our staff and volunteers to turn cats’ and dogs’ lives around. Odessa and her canine friends are safe now, but more like them are waiting for us in shelters every day.

Can you send a gift now so more animals can get the medical care and the forever families they deserve?

Anybody in the mood for a PUPperoni pizza?

We have great MEWS!

Papa Murphy’s will be donating 25% of your online purchases to Second Chance Pet Adoptions with the code “HELPFUL” at checkout!

If you have fur babies who’ve stolen a-pizza your heart, you know how deserving animals like them are!

One Year Later: Holly’s New Life

Second Chance introduced you to Holly on #GivingTuesday last year. What’s she up to a year later? Living life to the fullest with her forever family, thanks to you! Let’s take a look back…

In November 2019, a good Samaritan spotted a few stray dogs and reached out to Second Chance Pet Adoptions for help. One was in especially bad shape — the 10-month-old hound we’d soon come to know as Holly was visibly emaciated even from a distance. Her back legs were nonfunctional, so she was dragging the lower half of her body along the coarse ground, scraping her belly, back legs, and tail on sticks, gravel, and dirt.

Once caught, Holly was rushed straight to a veterinarian, and predictably, the vet did not deliver the best of news about Holly’s condition. Her pelvis was fractured and the muscles in her back legs had atrophied. There was evidence of trauma along her spine, so our best guess was that Holly had likely been hit by a car more than a week before she was found. The severe hookworm infestation raging in her intestines had also left her anemic.

90÷anding and labor-intensive: lack of control over her bladder and bowels, paired with the assistance Holly needed for every step she took, was matched only by the demands of vet appointments and physical therapy. Upon her arrival at Second Chance, one look at Holly was all it took for our Assistant Treasurer, Carol, to convince her husband – our Board of Directors President, Dave – that Holly needed to come home with them and soak up all the TLC they had to offer. Over the course of several months, Holly worked her way through hydrotherapy, acupuncture, and other treatments that gave her some ability to walk, but she also got a slick pair of wheels so she could cruise more effortlessly!

Though Holly will always have medical challenges, Dave and Carol eventually leaned into what the rest of us all knew: Holly was home from day one. In August, they committed to “forever” and officially adopted Holly!

Because of our donors, Holly is happily home now, but more dogs (and cats!) still roam the streets, many of them injured and alone. To ensure we can be there for them when we get the call for help, Second Chance will be asking for your support on #GivingTuesday. Whether you donate, share our fundraising pages, create your own fundraising page, or tune in for our live stream that evening, there are several ways to partner with us on Dec. 1 to help animals in need!

Because of You, Lorna is Thankful Today–And We Are, Too!

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This was Lorna in July of 2017, when Second Chance Pet Adoptions rescued Lorna (and her four siblings) from a horrendous hoarding situation. Lorna and the rest of the kittens were filthy, sick, and deeply uncomfortable in their own hairless skin. Lorna was suffering from ringworm, eye and upper respiratory infections, and ear infections that we actually feared would be chronic, impacting her for the rest of her life, after what she went through at such a young age.

After months of rigorous medical treatment for her ailments, Lorna was adopted in April of 2018, but when her adopter needed to devote more time to caring for sick relatives, Lorna was returned to us in December of 2019. Though she had done nothing wrong, Lorna was left homeless–and confused–during what should have been a joyous holiday season.

Your generous support enables us to make a lifelong commitment to the animals who come through our doors seeking shelter, safety, and love. Because of our donors and our volunteers, we could take Lorna in again and get to work again on finding her new–her forever–family. In February of 2020, Victoria visited our adoption center and fell in love with Lorna and her purrsonality. Lorna has become a permanent and beloved member of Victoria’s family–a happy tail made pawsible thanks to you! 

We give our deepest thanks to the Second Chance family that’s remained strong in the face of an incessantly difficult year: those who volunteer their time to help with intake, clinic nights, daily care, fostering, and transport; those who serve on our Board of Directors and play a vital role in helping us stretch every dollar through a pandemic; those who donate food, supplies, and funding for quality medical care; those who embrace adoption; those who sponsor us or our events or lend support through their business; and those who share the Second Chance mission with others, be it face-to-face or by following us on social media.

Today, and everyday, and especially this year, we are grateful for your continued support as we fight to bring joy into the lives of the animals we rescue. Because of you, many cats and dogs–homeless no longer–will be spending the holidays with their forever families in peace, comfort, and love.