The Second Chance® Fund

Chip and Chew -- two 18-year-old blue-and-gold macaws -- were surrendered to Under My Wing Avian Refuge by a friend of their owner due to lack of proper care. Both birds were dirty and smelled terrible upon arrival, and both had lameness in their feet that made standing and gripping difficult. Chew had plucked out all the feathers on his chest, back, legs and underarms due to anxiety, and Chip had a broken beak and puncture wounds on her chest that were infected. A Second Chance Fund grant helped provide for their medical care, and the rescue group reports that with the proper care and attention, the birds should recover their sweet, loving natures.

When Lucy, a 23-year-old Belgian mare, arrived at S.T.A.R. Ranch Rescue in Waynesville, N.C., she was a bag of bones with bad feet. In addition to being malnourished and several hundred pounds underweight, her hooves -- which had not been trimmed for years -- were splayed and split. Repeated, severe abscesses over too many years had caused sections of one hoof to fall away, and all four feet were infected with thrush. Unable to push herself up from a lying position, Lucy was in chronic pain from standing constantly. Although Lucy had spent her entire life with one family, they put her up for sale along with their property when they moved. A neighbor and some friends who had been asked to look after her became concerned for Lucy’s overall condition and contacted S.T.A.R. Ranch for advice. Subsequently, the owners agreed to relinquish Lucy to the horse refuge. The expensive, multiple surgeries required to save and rebuild Lucy’s back hooves have been paid for in part by a Second Chance Fund grant from American Humane. Although she still has a long road ahead of her, Lucy is gaining weight, growing healthier and winning over everyone she meets with her stoic, friendly nature.

Tiny and helpless, Emmie -- a 5-week-old female Lab mix -- was discovered in the backyard of a home. She had likely been thrown over the fence by an owner who didn’t want the responsibility of caring for the puppy -- and who evidently had not been for some time, judging by Emmie’s neglected head injury and severe mange. Fortunately, Emmie’s rescuers took her to the Animal Relief and Rescue Fellowship, where she was given medical (and tender loving) care with aid from a Second Chance Fund grant. Although Emmie was plagued by nightmares for some time, the lovable pup spent her days befriending other animals during her recovery. Today, Emmie has found a forever home with a family that includes three young boys who have found their new best friend.

When a new volunteer at an animal “refuge” in southern Mississippi told authorities that conditions there were inhumane and the animals were receiving no food, water or medicine, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department set out to investigate. What they discovered was almost 300 animals who had been living in horribly cramped, dirty conditions for two years, including 205 dogs in small wire cages (sometimes two or three to a cage) strewn across a dirt pit with no shelter from the elements, and 75 cats stacked in crates inside an old moving van. The owner of the refuge was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty, and all the animals were seized and taken to the Humane Society of South Mississippi. Some remained there for treatment and adoption, while others were transported to shelters in neighboring states, including the Dublin-Laurens County Humane Society in Georgia. The Dublin-Laurens shelter is currently caring for 71 mixed-breed dogs ranging from 6 months to about 7 years old, both at their own facility and at a local boarding kennel. With help from a Second Chance Fund grant from American Humane, the shelter is starting the long process of treating the dogs’ many maladies -- including heartworm, mange, broken bones, ringworm, ear infections, eye problems and advanced dental disease -- before they are put up for adoption. The change in the dogs’ behavior has been remarkable, says Irene Sumner, the shelter’s director. “When we first got these dogs, some would cower to people, and now they come running when they hear someone coming to them. To see them jumping and playing and enjoying the life that they might never have had if we hadn’t taken them is wonderful.”

When rescuers arrived at a farm in western Maryland, even the seasoned animal welfare professionals were shocked by what they saw: 50 animals near death, including 26 horses that were cruelly neglected and on the verge of starvation, along with 18 cows and six goats. Staff from the local humane society also made another terrible discovery: animal remains were found in at least 17 locations across the property. American Humane’s Red Star Animal Emergency Services™ team was called in to work alongside Days End Farm Horse Rescue and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to help care for the emaciated horses and ready them for adoption into new, loving homes. In addition to the Red Star team’s services, American Humane provided a Second Chance Fund grant to Days End Farm Horse Rescue to help cover the cost of medical treatment for the horses, estimated at $2,000 per horse for the first 30 days -- not including the cost of feeding and boarding. An investigation is pending, and charges will likely be made against the owner.