Second Chance Pets: COVID-19 Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Second Chance Pets is very grateful to the Petfinder Foundation for awarding us a COVID-19 Operation Grant of $1,000. These funds have been fully utilized for veterinary care, specifically spay/neuter surgeries for some of the many kittens and cats that have come into our foster-care program during the pandemic.
Our foster-based rescue organization was impacted by COVID-19 in multiple ways, including the cancellation of our annual fundraising event, reduction in donations due to supporters being furloughed, suspension of Petco adoption events during lockdown, and temporary closure of the low-cost spay/neuter clinic we rely on for sterilization of all of the cats and kittens in our foster-care program. The latter caused us to have to utilize alternate vet clinics that were still performing elective surgery (charging about 40% more for feline sterilization than the low-cost clinic) in order to avoid a surgery backlog during kitten season.
The generous grant award from the Petfinder Foundation was a much-appreciated source of funds to help offset the higher spay/neuter expenses while our dedicated volunteers continued working hard to save the lives of pets on the streets and in local shelters during the pandemic. All of our adoptable foster pets are showcased on Petfinder and we truly value this partnership.
How many pets did this grant help?
12
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Flint (first photo) was abandoned by his former owner and impounded at a crowded high-volume shelter. When the local COVID-19 shutdown was looming in March, the shelter put out pleas to rescue groups to pull more animals, as they had to downsize due to a reduction in on-site staff. SCP stepped in and rescued a number of cats and kittens, including Flint — who caught the eye of our cat-intake coordinator when Flint demonstrated his cuddling skills and loud purr motor.
All of the SCP cat ladies celebrated when Flint was adopted in May, but sadly, he and the adopter’s other cat didn’t get along, so he just recently came back into SCP foster care and is once again looking for his true forever home. Flint is a handsome, cool cat and hopes to find a new family soon. You can meet him here.
Scott and Cottonelle (second photo) are darling sibling kittens who were rescued in March from the same high-volume shelter, and yes, they were named for toilet paper brands, which seemed fitting during the TP shortage! They are very bonded to each other, so we were thrilled when they were adopted together in May by a loving family who drove all the way from Fort Worth to Houston to adopt the pair after seeing them on Petfinder and falling in love from afar.
