Second Chance: Help Homeless Pets with Your Taxes!

03 Apr Second Chance: Help Homeless Pets with Your Taxes!

For 30 years, the Animal Resource Center and Shops of Second Chance Humane Society have been serving Ouray, San Miguel, and Montrose Counties. Our adoption hours are from Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. View shelter pets and services online at www.secondchancehumane.org. Connecting Pets, People, and Community While Saving Lives.

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

Donate here.

Go here for more options from Second Chance.

Is there anything more boring than taxes? Many of you will undoubtedly be scrambling to file in the coming weeks. Not your favorite task, and you’d probably much rather be doing anything else. Or maybe you’re one of those organized people who have been working on them for weeks and relish the satisfaction of being ahead of the game. Whichever you are, we’d like to ask that you remember us and homeless pets around Colorado.

If you’re lucky enough to receive a refund on your state taxes, there are a couple of ways to help.

The Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund (CPOF) is a specific charitable fund established in 2001 by the Colorado State Legislature. The fund works to curb pet overpopulation in the state by funding spay/neuter programs for shelter and owned pets; providing medical care and microchips to shelter pets; and educating the public about the importance of controlling pet overpopulation.

Second Chance Humane Society (SCHS) has been a recipient of these funds for many years, and we were awarded a License Plate grant again this year to provide spay/neuter, veterinary care, and microchips to the over 400 lost, abandoned, and owner-surrendered pets we will care for in 2024. The License Plate grant is supported by sales of Adopt-a-Shelter Pet license plates. The next time you go in to register your car, purchase one of these license plates to support animal welfare. We are very grateful for this state-funded program that provides financial support for essential medical care for shelter animals.

The tax check-off program of CPOF funds spay/neuter pets by local coalitions of humane societies, veterinary clinics, and animal care and control organizations. Second Chance offers affordable prices on spay/neuter and CPOF tax check-off is one of the grants that allow us to offer these services. To contribute, simply enter the amount you would like to donate on the Voluntary Contributions Schedule on the state income tax form and the state of Colorado will forward the designated amount to CPOF. Your donation will enter the collective and help keep the CPOF fund healthy and viable.

If you’d like to give directly to Second Chance with your tax refund, we’d be so thankful! You can donate by entering our ID on the Voluntary Contributions Schedule (form DR 0104CH) of your Colorado Tax Return. You can look us up by name, or jot down this number to put in the “registration number” field: 20063005031.

Okay, now the boring stuff is covered. April has so much to be excited about! As days get warmer and the mud starts to dry, our dogs and cats will be enjoying one of the best times of the year. Dogs can be outside more, going on long walks and playing in the play yards. Our cats will surely spend more time basking in the sun in the windows and out in the catios.

MIni Wheats

Mini Wheats is the last of our “cereal” litter still at the shelter (yes, we sometimes struggle to think of names). He is almost one year old and has been at the shelter his whole life. He had calicivirus, but is now symptom-free. Any feline roommates will need to be vaccinated.

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

Second Chance 2023 IMPACT

• 550 pets came through our doors (471 pets in 2022)
• We found homes for 174 dogs & 310 cats  (178 dogs & 248 cats in 2022)
• We reunited 47 lost pets with their people 24 pets in 2022
• Our save rate for 2023 was 97% (Same as 2022)
• Our Pet Pantry gave pet food to families in need 252 times in 2023,
• and shared food to 11 animal welfare organizations
• We spayed/neutered 80 cats & 62 dogs
• and altered 402 feral cats