Second Chance Animal Services: Expanding Veterinary Services in the Springfield Area

Sheryl Blancato, founder and Executive Director of Second Chance, says that demand for subsidized veterinary care has been increasing. To keep pace, Blancato’s organization recently purchased a building on Mulberry Street in Springfield, located up the street from Milton Bradley School. Here, Second Chance will be able to expand operations of their Community Health Pet Initiative, a program that provides subsidized pricing for those that qualify.

How does subsidized pricing work? All clients are welcome at Second Chance clinics and fees for services are competitive with those of private clinics. The difference at Second Chance clinics is that if you do not qualify for subsidized care, part of what you pay will defray costs for those who cannot afford full price for services.

Why is this important? In cases where a pet owner cannot afford necessary health care, a person may decide to surrender their animal to a shelter. The person loses their dog or cat but at least knows their pet will receive necessary health care. Both human and animal suffer emotionally as a result of the separation. Blancato and her team prefer to help owners of dogs and cats keep pets in their homes. To that end, Second Chance runs subsidized veterinary clinics in North Brookfield, Worcester, and Springfield, MA. All three of Second Chance’s veterinary clinics are open to the public.

You may be wondering why people have pets when they cannot afford costs of veterinary care. To this point, Sheryl Blancato simply says: “The joy and companionship afforded by a pet should not be a luxury reserved for the wealthy.” Mrs. Blancato believes that the lives of humans can be greatly enhanced by the presence of a dog or cat and everyone should have that opportunity. In fact, in a previous blog post (see The Evolution of Dog Rescue), Mrs. Blancato recounted how some older folks with whom Second Chance works have made a conscious decision to stay out of assisted living facilities in order to remain united with their pets. Those of us who know the love and companionship of a dog or cat, understand that they motivate us to keep going even when we lose support of humans in our lives. There is no price tag for something that valuable.

Second Chance Animal Services plans to open their new clinic on May 1, 2018. If you would like to support the expansion of Second Chance Animal Services please go to their website or their facebook page.

Second Chance Animal Shelter recently changed its name to Second Chance Animal Services. To call the organization a shelter hardly seems apt because sheltering stray and abandoned animals is only a facet of the work they do.