Quarterly Newsletter
Summer 2005 Issue Number 14
Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries
PO Box 293 Wellsboro, PA 16901
570-724-7919
E-Mail : secondchanceas@yahoo.com
On the Web : www.secondchanceas.org

You often give your pet a pat on the head or back for doing a job well. This article is intended to give a pat on the back to all the people who volunteer so much of their time to help make the lives of dogs and cats a little better. These volunteers take many forms.

You often see high school students that care for, walk, clean cages and runs at your local PSPCA. You can now see a new ‘breed’ of pet volunteers when you surf the Internet. One can find many hundreds of websites devoted to animal rescue. Animal rescue website volunteers usually concern themselves with only one type of animal or breed at a time but that does not diminish the wonderful job they do in finding homes for pets that are no longer wanted or can no longer be cared for by their original owners. These volunteers often travel hundreds of miles to pick up a pet to transfer it from one home to another.

The relatively new ‘no-kill’ animal shelters also attract many dedicated volunteers. ‘No-kill’ shelters perform many similar services to those of the standard SPCA’s except that they do not euthanize animals except for reasons of failing health, suffering, etc. (Note: our local SPCA follows this policy as well).

Another valuable volunteer is the pet foster parent. Pet foster parents give temporary homes to pets that, for one reason or another, are unable to be housed immediately in a shelter or adopted out to a new home. This service is so important and often times makes the difference between life and death for the dislocated pet.

The pet volunteer can easily become overwhelmed by emotion when having to deal with the enormous number of pets that become homeless and need a new home. Dealing with a pet that’s often advanced in age and is no longer wanted or can no longer be cared for by its original family is often a heart-wrenching experience. These pets (many over 10 years old) have been loyal, loving family members and one can almost feel their pain and anguish at being suddenly abandoned and left with strangers.

Pet volunteering isn't for everyone but it can be a very rewarding experience. If you want to make a difference, please contact your local animal welfare organization(s). Chances are they need your help. We do!

We at Second Chance were very saddened at hearing of the passing of Jackie West. Jackie has been an animal lover for many years and was one of Second Chance’s first members. Even though she was allergic to animals and couldn’t have them as pets, she nevertheless would stop by on occasion and visit one of our board member*s homes and play with the kitties and dogs. Jackie truly loved animals. Jackie, you are sorely missed by us and the animals you lovingly cared about!

Summer is finally here and it feels so good to take that long-awaited breath of flower-scented air (between rainstorms, that is!) We at Second Chance have been running into high gear as we once again begin to receive the kitten litter and stray dog phone calls. Our feral cat colony is thriving, and all cats are healthy and well-fed, thanks to the donations of food from supporters and Kasey’s devoted attention to the frisky felines. If you have extra cat food (dry or canned) and wish to help us out, feel free to Email us or call us and we’d be glad to pick it up! These creatures eat a great amount of food!

We have been assisting the local SPCA with transporting animals to neighboring states enroute to new homes, as well as trying to find temporary foster homes for their endless litters of kittens. Four Paws Animal Sanctuary, (Millerton, PA) has been filled to capacity with dogs and cats. We have been attempting to find homes for the many calls Denise Morrell, owner of Four Paws, has been receiving. In summation, we have been quite busy! However, networking with other groups that share our cause is the only way this is going to work, and we feel fortunate to have such a healthy relationship with other local animal welfare organizations.

Our group was represented at the fourth annual Children's Health Fair held on Saturday, June 11th in Wellsboro. We set up an informational booth with materials dedicated to animal welfare and humane education free for the taking. Children entertained themselves with coloring pages and Spunky, one of our beloved canines, went along for the event.

Speaking of humane education, we are excited about our recently-created puppet show designed to extend feelings of animal compassion in children. We plan to debut this show during upcoming festivals as well as take it into the elementary schools during the upcoming school year.

A situation which we have encountered more frequently within the past few months is placing a pet whose owner has passed away or has been placed in a nursing home. We have animals on our website right now who are victims in this position. (A few of these animals are pictured on the last page of this newsletter.) It is a topic many of us do not wish to consider, but we felt it warrants some consideration and thought.

Lastly, if you visit our website, please make a note of our new address. We needed to change web hosts and have a new address, which is actually easier to remember. Please make a note and change this if you have it saved! (The old address may still show our website, but it is no longer being updated). Have a great, healthy summer and go out and keep your loved furry friends cool and comfy!

…….a continuing diary of a feral cat colony that Second Chance is managing

Last summer there was a crafty female that I could not catch before she had her babies. She had five black and white babies on a hay bale almost right in the open. I fed her canned food for two days, and then gave my husband that pleading look. He constructed a corral in the garage. I went up and picked up all the kittens and put them in a carrier. I butted the carrier to the box trap and patiently waited behind the corner. Jessie, the mom, could barely stand hearing them cry and walked into the trap. They were quickly transported to my garage. This surrogate mother became hysterical after the kittens were placed in their new bed, but their mother didn*t go to them for hours! Worrying that they would starve to death, surrogate mommy placed the kittens in a little cat bed and took them over to where the mother was hiding. Then I placed a large blanket over them to make her feel secure. The next time I looked she was in there with them. Unfortunately, this prime area for Jessie was in the middle of my husband’s woodworking tools. Eventually everyone got moved back to the corral in anticipation of the crawling and exploring days coming ahead. Jessie and her kittens spent six weeks in our garage. We only saw flashes of momma as she ran to her hiding spot, but by week four we knew we had some beautiful friendly babies. One baby looked a little skinny so I began to feed him some KMR with a dropper. He soon associated me with food and would come crawling towards me at the sound of my voice. Little Milo caught up quickly with his brothers and sister.

Once everyone started crawling around we noticed that one of the babies seemed to have a very unsteady head and could not crawl very well at all. He would crawl a few steps and then tip over on his side. He was persistent though and would make it out of the sleeping area to come out and try to drink the milk from the dish. As the other kittens became steadier and playful, chasing each other and their toys, Wobbles tried hard but still tumbled a lot. We had many people tell us that we would probably have to put him down, that they thought he would never be able to walk. Ha, Wobbles showed them! We worked with him daily, taking him outside in the soft grass to practice walking and we found he did better at a fast pace then a slow stroll. He would take off across the yard without a fumble until he stopped. Soon his brothers and sister were finding homes. We were worried that he wouldn’t find a home because of his disability. I put a sign up in the veterinary office and ran an ad in the local paper. I had one call from a lab that wanted to do scientific tests on him! “No way,” I said, “I will keep him if he doesn’t get a home.” (My two furbabies inside my house, however, were telling me differently). Then a miracle happened. Deb Jones and her mother were taking their animal to the vet when they saw the sign and they just knew they had to help this critter. They came to see him and knew instantly they wanted him, provided he tested negative for feline leukemia since they had another cat at home. The vet couldn’t get Wobbles in until Monday to have him tested, and his last brother found a home Sunday morning. A pathetic cry emitted from my garage that I could hear in the house when his brother went with his adopted parents! We tried to comfort him, but as soon as we would leave he would cry. We gave him a stuffed animal for comfort for the night and hoped that his mother would come out of hiding and give him comfort. The next morning, Deb and her mother came to get Wobbles. He tested negative and was taken to his new home. What a palace and what royal treatment did he receive! He was instantly adopted by the other resident female cat, Fluffy, and female beagle, Betty, who found it their duty to mother him. The male beagle/basset, Buck, watches over them all.

“Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout..! Run right back and make friends.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Did you ever stop to think of what the dog or cat that you share your life with would do if you were suddenly not able to share your home with them?

We'd like to thank Etc. Antique Station in Wellsboro for sponsoring the summer issue of Second Glances. Through the support of individuals and businesses like this, we are better able to keep our members and supporters informed!