SECOND GLANCES

Quarterly Newsletter Fall 2006 Issue 19
Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries
570-724-7919
www.secondchanceas.org
Email: secondchanceas@yahoo.com

Sanctuary Donations Give Pet Fire Victims a Second Chance

Losing belongings or a home in a fire or other disaster is bad enough, but for people who love their pets, losing an animal can be worse than not having a place to live. For firefighters and other rescue personnel, it can be frustrating to not have the tools on hand that could help save a dog or cat. Most departments are willing to try, but they don't have the equipment. The "people" (oxygen) masks just don't fit. Asking fire departments to buy resuscitation masks for animals is asking a lot of volunteers already struggling to purchase the equipment they need to save buildings and people.

Second Chance members came across information about an organization in Florida that had pet oxygen masks for sale at a very reasonable price. The masks, manufactured by the Wisconsin-based SurgiVet (SurgiVet makes veterinarian anesthesia and monitoring equipment), come in sets of three different sizes, are reusable, and are designed to work with air tanks already on rescue equipment.

Using money donated by area residents over the past few years, Second Chance bought 20 sets, one for each of the county's 17 departments and 3 for the out-of-county departments that sometime respond to incidents in our county. During the past few months the sets were delivered. Pets across Tioga County can now receive their own precious breath of life from each fire department.

Psst! I'm cute. My name is Barney and I'm adoptable at SCAS.

If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,

If you can overlook when people take things out on you when,

through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can do all these things,

Then you are probably the family dog.

**********************************************************************

Dear friends,

As fall is upon us and the weather gradually chills the air, Second Chance begins its sixth year of existence. We continue to follow our mission of providing needy animals with nurturing homes and assisting those who are in need with giving their animals better care.

The support of our youth is always extra special to us. The Green Free Library in Wellsboro held a summer reading program revolving around animals. As part of this program, the children brought in money to assist us in our work. (We had many, many pennies and coins, but every cent from a child means the world to us!) Teenagers Rachel DeBochler and Erann McNeal from Girl Scout Troop #1303 placed boxes for donations of animal food at Greco's Market in Mansfield and the Covington Post Office. We now have enough food to feed our cat colony and provide for many needy dogs for months to come! (See photo below). Our thanks to Greco's Market and the Covington Post Office for allowing the placement of the boxes, as well as to Greco's for allowing Second Chance to hold a bake sale during our annual Pedal for Pets bike-a-thon on October 1st.

Second Chance reached out to help our volunteer firefighters during the summer. We purchased pet oxygen masks and the departments were very appreciative of our contribution! (See related article). We also continue to network with other animal welfare groups in our quest for animals' right to a loving, fulfilling life.

As the fall months continue, we will be present at various craft fairs as well as Wellsboro's annual Dickens of a Christmas the first Saturday in December. Our annual "Pet Photos with Santa" will be held at Hampson's Farm & Garden (Agway) in Wellsboro. This is always a popular event!

We are always looking for craft ideas, homemade dog biscuits to sell, and folks to foster motherless kittens who need to be bottle-fed and litter trained. (And, our top priority----a donation of 1 acre or more of land so that we can begin our facility). If you can assist in any of these capacities or know someone who would be willing to assist, please be in touch. We wish you a beautiful, colorful fall season and a joyous holiday season!

Sue Cook, President

Summer Memberships	Summer Donations
Earl & Vanessa Danley	Don Gill Elementary Faculty	Bud Unangst
Bev & Bill McKnight	Earl & Vanessa Danley	Linda Lane
Linda Lane	Jane & Joseph Graff	Carol Costner
Sally Gridley	Bev & Bill McKnight	Sally Gridley
Bud Unangst	Green Free Library	Gabe Greco
Ralph & Jo Woltenholme	Ralph & Jo Woltenholme	Thomas Walrath
John Kentch	Suzanne Berfield
Jane & Joseph Graff

Summer Memorials

Violette McLitus, in memory of Spunky Burket, furry friend

Brnice Superko, in memory of Ginger McLitus, furry friend

Dave & Pam Burket, in memory of Batman & Spunky Burket, & Ginger McLitus, furry friends

Karin Olsen DVM, in memory of Odyssee Hugic, furry friend

************************************************************************

NOT ALL HEROES ARE PEOPLE

James Crane worked on the 101st floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. He is blind so he has a golden retriever named Daisy. After the plane hit 20 stories below, James knew that he was doomed, so he let Daisy go, out of an act of love. She darted away into the darkened hallway. Choking on the fumes of the jet fuel and the smoke, James was just waiting to die. About 30 minutes later, Daisy came back along with James' boss, who Daisy just happened to pick up on floor 112. On her first run of the building, she leads James, James' boss, and about 300 more people out of the doomed building. But she wasn't through yet, she knew there were others who were trapped. So, highly against James' wishes she ran back into the building. On her second run, she saved 392 lives. Again she went back in. During this run, the building collapsed. James heard about this and fell on his knees into tears. Against all known odds, Daisy made it out alive, but this time she was carried by a firefighter. "She led us right to the people, before she got injured" the fireman explained. Her final run saved another 273 lives. She suffered acute smoke inhalation, severe burns on all four paws, and a broken leg, but she saved 967 lives. The next week, Mayor Guilaini rewarded Daisy with the Canine Medal of Honor of New York.

Daisy is the first civilian canine to win such an honor.

Each of the animals in the photos below has a hero story of their own. They all were recently adopted!

Thank you!

************************************************************************

Kasey's Kat Kolony

The stork has arrived at Kasey's Kat Kolony, Second Chance's Feral Cat project. New baby girl, Kaylee, and the feline residents are doing well. Congratulations Kasey and Travis! Stay tuned for Kasey's article to return in future newsletters.

Pets and Aging

Just a single topic this time, and it is from personal experience that this article is written. An article published several years ago about human aging comes to mind now in writing this article about pets and aging. The article stated that a person should never accept aches, pains or other ill health issues as just a consequence of old or advancing age. The article contended that a person could well reach a ripe old age without experiencing these conditions. If we practice preventive medicine and properly addressed any troublesome health issues as they arise rather than let them compound and become chronic, our old age can be pain free and comfortable.

Well, it turns out that the article is probably even truer for our pets. If you have an older pet (7+ years), either dog or a cat, you shouldn’t assume that conditions such as poor appetite, lameness, poor vision or hearing, bad breath, obesity, incontinence or general malaise are conditions of old age. More often than not a pet experiencing any of the above symptoms may be suffering from a treatable disease or condition. If diagnosed early they may be corrected before there is any long-term damage to your pet’s general health. The key, of course, is early diagnosis. Your daily observations of your pet*s activities and habits can in crucial in determining when and if something abnormal might be occurring with your pet. If you do notice a change in your pet*s habits that last more than a few days you should see your vet as soon as possible. Some diseases such as diabetes can do irreversible harm to your pet by causing blindness and circulatory problems if left untreated for very long. With early treatment your pet could lead a normal life.

Even if your pet doesn’t appear to have any particular problems it is recommended that he or she be examined at least twice a year. If your pet is in the ‘older’ age range, a comprehensive battery of blood, chemistry and urine tests are now available. The necessity for twice yearly exams can be better understood when you remember that a pet ages at a rate quite differently than a human. The old adage that on average our pets age up to seven times faster than we do is quite accurate. If your pet only had an annual vet exam, it would be like you going to the doctor only once every seven years.

With the advances in veterinarian care, it is now possible for our pets to lead active, comfortable lives into their senior years, with a little help from us.

************************************************************************

Anyone who has pets will really like this story.

Even if you don't have a pet ... a final caution....It may cause you to decide you need one.

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog, Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease...she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him.

The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death. The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully but the dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

But finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. Panic soon gave way to laughter though when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, in every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement and back bringing his beloved mistress his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love. Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every night.

It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

We would like to extend a special 'paws up' thank you to this newsletter sponsor...

Flossie Comstock’s Beauty Salon

11 King Street In Wellsboro

Call 724-3796 for an appointment

"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."

- Dereke Bruce

"Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause the most inconvenience."-- Pam Brown

Cat's motto: "No matter what you've done wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it." Unknown