Second Chance: Badger Needs a Special Person + 2022 Highlights!

04 Jan Second Chance: Badger Needs a Special Person + 2022 Highlights!

Second Chance Humane Society’s Animal Resource Center and Thrift Shops have been serving San Miguel, Ouray & Montrose Counties since 1994. The shelter is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 11 to 5:30. Community veterinary services are available by appointment.

View shelter pets and services online: www.adoptmountainpets.org.

Go here for more on Dr. Shari DePauw of Second Chance. Second Chance veterinary clinic is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Call (970) 626-9713 or email clinic@adoptmountainpets.org

Donate here.

Go here for more options from Second Chance.

Some dogs just can’t catch a break.

Badger is such a dog.

Badger came to Second Chance a couple of years ago. His history was a mystery, but he’d obviously had a rough time. He has a permanent bump on his head from a prior injury. That is probably why he is deaf. However, all that did not seem to affect his cognitive ability though. Badger is smart, learns quickly, and enjoys interacting with people and playing with toys.

Badger was adopted into a loving home, where he stayed for a couple of years. Then, he had another rough break. His mom passed away and he found himself back with us at Second Chance. That was over six months ago.

Badger is now about 7 and has the manners and demeanor of a mature dog. He loves squeaky toys, treats, and cuddles. (He thinks he is a lap dog.) Badger knows some hand signals and quickly learns new ones. If you adopt him, he will keep you laughing with his lovable, goofy antics and adventurous spirit. Badger is a wonderful walking buddy and has great leash skills.

Badger will need an adult-only home where he is the only animal so he can live his best life. He will do best in a home with someone who has experience with deaf dogs or is willing to learn.

There are lots of resources for learning to love and train a deaf dog. (Here is a great article from AKC.) A few basic rules that will keep a dog like Badger safe and comfortable are to make sure he can visually perceive you before you touch him, be consistent and gentle when waking to avoid startling him, and keep him leashed when out and about since he cannot hear traffic or other dangers.

The first step in training a deaf dog is teaching it to focus on you. Start by rewarding your dog with a treat when they focus. That will reinforce the behavior and your dog will learn that paying attention to you is worth their while. You’ll also want to teach your dog a signal that means “look at me,” like a gentle touch or a flash of light. Always pair the signal with a reward after he looks at you and gives you attention.

After a deaf dog becomes tuned into you, training a vocabulary of hand signals will be the next step. You’ll need a clear hand signal for each action you want him to learn. It doesn’t matter what they are if you’re consistent. Experts agree it’s as easy to train a deaf dog as a hearing dog. A deaf dog can be a great companion and will likely bond tightly to their person.

Badger has so much love to give. Do you have it in your heart to adopt this special guy? You can meet him at Second Chance Humane Society Tuesday-Saturday from 11am-5:30pm. Feel free to contact us with any questions at 970-626-2273 or animalcare@adoptmountainpets.org

AND… To continue the Second Chance Highlights section, we want to share the following:

Last week, we were focused on end-of-year updates and fundraising. I apologize for the huge amount of content I’m sharing, but I trust you will pick and choose what is best for your subscribers. Pet column is attached as well.

Saving tiny kittens!

In 2022 our incredible staff and dedicated volunteers stepped up and saved so many little ones.

Just a few stories of helpless, homeless kittens we saved:

Medusa was a tiny three-day-old orphan who needed around-the-clock care. Lizzie, one of our pet care specialists, took the little black bobtail kitten home and bottle-fed her, kept her warm, and helped her grow until she was ready to come back to the shelter. Medusa was adopted quickly and is now being loved in her new home.

A litter of grey tabby babies came to us, orphaned at about one week old. Cinda (pet care specialist) took the babies home, naming them Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Moe as they were close-to-identical siblings. They thrived with her attention and care- and all are now adopted. One is now the “pool cat” at Ouray Hot Springs.

Other babies we saved this year included:

• Sheba, a 7-week-old kitten who came in with a broken leg that had to be amputated, was cared for and adopted by Tina who works in our vet clinic.

• Huck & Finn were found nearly frozen and the only two survivors from their litter. They are now gaining strength in foster care with a wonderful volunteer.

• Po was found on the side of the road before her eyes were open- sick, skinny, and alone. She is now waiting to be spayed so she can be adopted.

Second Chance took in 100 kittens in 2022!
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Patience, Hope, and New Homes!

2022 was a year when Second Chance dogs needed all of our patience and hope.

Our biggest dog story of the year was the story of Louie. If you followed our social media and pet column last summer, you are familiar with his saga where he escaped and was loose in Telluride for over two weeks. Our staff, board, and volunteers spent countless hours searching for him. The search was finally successful when a social media follower, Greg, stepped forward to give expert advice. You can read about it here.

The best part of the story was Louie’s adoption. Greg and his family came from the front range to visit Louie at the shelter. A few weeks later, they decided to drive back and adopt him! Louie is now a treasured member of Greg’s family and is a relaxed, confident, silly dog.

We had several dogs who were long-term residents at the shelter. Some dogs just need a little extra time to find their people.

Mowgli (now Moe) is a young, large, silly, smart, goofball who spent most of his life in shelters. He came to us as a transfer from another rescue group and was adopted after just a few weeks. Unfortunately, he came back after his new mom developed severe allergies aggravated by Mowgli’s presence in the home. After he came back to the shelter, he was sad, stressed, and wished he was not there. Months passed, with several people coming to meet him, but none choosing to take him home. In November, one of our incredible volunteers took Mowgli to foster. He blossomed in their home. He relaxed, learned new things, and was the perfect house guest. Earlier this month, a young, active couple from Telluride adopted him. Their Instagram now shows photos of Moe exploring the mountains and loving his new life. His new dad says, “Moe has been in our lives for one week now and I think it’s safe to say he’s my best friend.”

Brute came to us as an owner surrender. A healthy, beautiful boxer mix, we expected him to find his people quickly. Employees and volunteers fell in love with him, and he got along with other dogs. We soon learned that he was a skilled fence climber. He didn’t run off after climbing the fence – he’d use his skill to visit other dogs in other runs. We also think his name was not helping him. As one of our pet caregivers said, “To call him Brute is like calling a tall guy Shorty, or a bald guy Curly.”

We were all smiling when he was adopted.

We were also so happy to see long-stay dogs Sturgill, Trey, Chuck, and Bear find their people.

Nearly 150 dogs found their homes through Second Chance in 2022!
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Stepping Up to Help Pets in Need!

When people are in crisis, pets are in crisis too.

We had two multi-dog rescues in 2022. Both were heartbreaking… and heartwarming in the end.

In April, we received a call about a local resident who had many dogs and was unable to feed and care for them. Most had not received basic healthcare or spaying/neutering. We rescued 11 dogs, an assortment of mystery mixes. Some of them were friendly while others were nervous.  All were full of personality. From JR, the intimidating-looking guy who was a gentle and loving dog, to Malia (now Molly) who captured the heart of one of our loyal volunteers, to silly Lucy the lovable fence climber who had no control over her tongue. We also helped their person with spaying and neutering a couple of dogs they wanted to keep. We were so happy when every one of the dogs went to loving homes.

In August, we worked with shelters around the state to rescue over 40 dogs from a property in a neighboring county. Some were very unsocialized; all needed medical care, patience, and love. We were at capacity, but were able to take in three of the dogs: Smidge, Oscar, and Molly. Two of them are still with us, waiting for their people (Oscar and Molly).

Also in August, we helped a big-hearted soul, who had taken in many cats that were dumped on her property. She fed them and helped them learn to trust people. With an upcoming surgery, she was concerned about the cats’ welfare. We took in 8 cats, some of whom were seniors. With the dedication of our staff and the skill of our veterinary team, the cats were brought to health and all but one have now gone to loving homes (adopt Tebo!).

Second Chance is a Leader in Animal Rescue in Colorado!
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Banner Year for Veterinary Services!

Pets & People Live Better Together.

When we opened our vet clinic, we knew there was a huge need for low-cost/low-income vet care in our area. We also saw that veterinary cost was a factor in pet surrenders. The program numbers for 2022 (through November) tell the story of how appreciated and needed this service is to the community.

• We treated 1869 pets – including shelter pets and community pets

• 934 pets were spayed or neutered, including 406 feral cats

• We saw 250 pets in the underserved communities of the west end at our Nucla clinics

December has been a very busy month for the clinic, so these stats will be even more impressive when we tally up at year’s end. Compare this to last year, when we saw 679 pets and spayed/neutered 535 (87 ferals).

We are also excited to have more space to work, greet customers, and recover pets now that we’re finishing up our clinic expansion project.

Customers said it best:

“I used them for a spay on an adult dog and they were absolutely WONDERFUL. They took time to go over her health history when I got there. They had her snuggled up under a blanket when I went to pick her up. The vet discussed EVERYTHING with me and answered my million questions. The tech helped me walk her and put her in the car. I couldn’t have asked for better care.”

“Dr. Shari has texted throughout the day, checking up on him. She truly cares. Tabby was so swift on her response as soon as we pulled in…What a team!”

“Dr. Shari and crew are truly a blessing! I can never thank them enough for all they have done with my pack!!! Gentle yet no nonsense! Thank you!”

Our Veterinary Clinic Serves the Entire Community!