30 Years of Loving, Belonging, & Purpose
How one celebration gave voice to a life of service for many
Sunlight filtered through the expansive windows of the banquet room at the community golf course, illuminating the red can koozies with the Second Chance logo and nametags arranged in precise rows on the check-in table. Guests poured through the doors with easy smiles and eyes darting as they looked for familiar faces. Round tables with white tablecloths began to fill as friends connected and new connections were forged.
Each member of the small board of directors gave a short speech, welcoming the guests. They expressed gratitude for our contributions to their mission to provide homeless dogs and cats with a Second Chance at life and companionship. Cheers rose when we learned that the collaborative effort that had begun 30 years prior by Nancy Minion and Lynda Ahlgren had resulted in 10,800 cats and dogs being rescued. That’s 10,800 hearts that kept beating. 10,800 lives saved.
The ooohs and aaahs hushed as the microphone was passed from guest to guest with each attendee giving voice to their Second Chance story. At my table, two friends who shared a home and two resident felines also shared a love of helping cats in need. While we sipped lemonade and enjoyed celebratory cake, six rambunctious kittens were bouncing around the kitten sanctuary in their home. Later that day, they’d put their pets in a locked room and let the fosters explore the house – all in the name of socializing the kittens and helping them learn how to live in a human world.
Another woman at the table had enlisted as a dog foster 20 years prior. While waiting for that first dog to grace her home, a cat in need of emergency housing found temporary refuge in hers. That one cat experience snowballed into 20 years of caring for cats. She has yet to foster a dog!
One man chuckled as he told how he and his wife adopted more dogs than they fostered. We laughed with him, and many of us nodded, as we recalled our own “foster failures.” (Foster failure is when you adopt the animal you’ve been fostering. I’ve failed four times!)
His storytelling was humble, but his effort is mighty. Dave and his wife, Marilyn, host one of the Second Chance pet food “sheds.” The sheds are places where food and supplies are distributed to fosters so they don’t have to bear financial burden for the animals in their care. Dave and Marilyn have sorted, lifted, stacked, and rearranged hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and supplies into their truck, out of their truck, into their garage, and into the waiting trunks, seats, and pick-up beds of foster after foster, year after year.
At any given time along the 30-year continuum, 60 to 70 volunteers raise their hand to foster cats and dogs, transport animals from impound to veterinary appointments, design web pages and newsletters, update the Petfinder pages, and manage operations. The organization offers a little something for everyone.
What is not stated in the Second Chance mission is that caring for animals often gives people their own second chance at life and connection.
Two parents and their teens each told a different twist on the same theme of how fostering dogs had strengthened their family and helped them navigate the turbulent years. The oldest daughter, a passionate and eloquent young woman, shared her struggles with anxiety, depression, and ADHD. She pointed directly to the dogs as saving her from some of her darkest moments. Her sister, a bit more quiet but equally enthusiastic, shared her own stories of purpose and belonging. It was obvious this family had racked up many inside jokes through their experience.
A petite woman with slumped shoulders spoke of her upcoming move that would prevent her from fostering again. Her sadness was palpable. Caring for cats had connected her to a daughter who struggled with depression. She worried how her daughter and their relationship would fare without the cats.
Around the tables and through the microphone poured stories of grief turned to hope and confidence emerging from struggle. Had I taken a poll, I bet nearly everyone in the room would’ve agreed that their animals saved them more than the other way around.
People expressed plenty of gratitude for the generous supporters whose donations help provide resources to save those in greatest need. The quarterly newsletter is packed full of stories of hope rising from the ashes on wings of love and veterinary miracles. Those donations also enable Second Chance to fund spay and neuter clinics. We can’t foster our way out of the overpopulation crisis. Preventing unwanted births can help.
Please lift a red-koozied can with me in a toast to the extraordinary efforts of Lynda and Nancy. They saw a need, rose to the challenge, and persevered. Thirty years! Superheroes do exist!
“Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.” – Jane Goodall
(If you have a few dollars to spare, please consider supporting Second Chance Animal Rescue or a shelter or rescue near you. If you have a few minutes to spare, consider fostering or volunteering to help. The animals will be grateful. I bet you will be, too.)
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Thank you for helping our pets!
I know what it's like to pioneer an animal welfare organization--it is NOT easy! Congratulations to 2nd Chance for the amazing work they have done in saving companion animal lives!