Second Chance: Caring for the Caregivers + Updates Relating to Local Fires!

07 Aug Second Chance: Caring for the Caregivers + Updates Relating to Local Fires!

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 or mail to: PO Box 2096, Ridgway, CO, 81432. 

Go here for more options from Second Chance.

At Second Chance Humane Society, our shelter staff cares for the animals day in and day out. They feed, exercise, cuddle, and love every one of them. They also clean up icky messes, administer medications, manage conflicts (the animals don’t all play nicely), and perform many other less-than-glamourous tasks. Our success depends on these hard-working, compassionate, and dedicated people. Without them, we can’t save animals and find new homes for them.

Our staff is usually treated with respect and kindness, and our community is very supportive. Unfortunately, we’ve recently had incidents where our valued people have been verbally abused and subjected to negativity by visitors at the shelter. We understand that people who care about animals can be very passionate and opinionated and may let emotions dictate their reactions. But there is no excuse for personal attacks or name-calling.

Such behavior is not unique to us. Other shelters are seeing the same things. These situations contribute to burnout and stress, pushing some to leave the field of animal welfare. One shouldn’t have to develop a thick skin to work with animals and people in a shelter setting. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) shared a blog titled “When You’re the Target for Hate.” It is a must-read for those involved in animal welfare.

Another message is equally damaging – that we don’t do enough. We are dedicated to helping as many pets as we can. Sadly, we can’t help them all. We are limited by our shelter license, funding and, yes, by the capacity of our staff. Animal welfare organizations nationwide are seeing high intake numbers, animals waiting longer for adoption, increased behavior cases, and decreased funding. These trends mean we’re working harder for our “wins.” Despite these trends, we are committed to continuing our work- because we love animals and believe they deserve happy, stable homes.

We are always striving to do more.

Our adoption numbers have grown every year. Our save percentage is in the high 90th percentile. We advocate for our long-term residents and work hard to find just the right homes for them. We offer vaccine clinics for those who may need a lower-cost, more convenient option. We listen and learn from our supporters. We do our best to pay a fair wage and appreciate our staff. We appreciate our volunteers, adopters, supporters, and advocates.

What can you do? We always need support in the traditional ways: volunteering, donating money, adopting a cat or a dog. In today’s world, we also need something that won’t cost you anything and only takes a moment. We need your kindness. When you meet one of our staff, take a moment to say how much you admire their dedication to animals. Recognize their hard work. Give the caretakers a bit of care. Let them know they are appreciated. While we can’t control the haters and their angry outbursts, we can try to balance that negativity with kindness and compassion.

If you’d like to share words of encouragement with our staff, email animalcare@secondchancehumane.org

Bear is a fun, smart, well-behaved pit mix who came to us as a stray. He is housebroken and will let you know when he needs to go outside. He LOVES toys and will walk around with them in his mouth. He knows “sit” and “down” and learns new commands quickly.

Bear

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

IMPORTANT: Because of the Bucktail Fire in the Nucla area, the vaccine clinic has been rescheduled to August 22. Nucla Community Center from 11-3.

EVENT: Burgers, Dogs, & Dogs

Adoption Event & Fundraising BBQ
Aug 11th
Rotary Park in Montrose
11am-2pm
$10
burger/hot dog/veggie burger, chips & drink.
Proceeds & donations to
The Montrose Bully Breed Club

& Second Chance Humane Society