Working with the Community to Keep People and their Pets Together 2022 Winner

Second Chance Animal Rescue

Congratulations Second Chance Animal Rescue (SCAR)!

SCAR was founded in 2008, after veterinary nurse & local shelter volunteer Marisa Debattista witnessed firsthand how many companion animals needed help while too few resources were available to help those animals & their families.  Marisa launched SCAR from her own home, with a few vet nurses & a handful of animals. Since its inception, SCAR has grown into a medium-sized charity, supported by a network of hundreds of foster carers & volunteers, who help us care for hundreds of animals each year. They have rehomed over 12,500 animals to date who are now happily settled in new homes around the state.  SCAR is a not-for-profit, community-based, registered charity that is run by a small team of passionate veterinary & sheltering professionals, supported by animal-loving volunteers & foster carers. They opened their current shelter facility & Community Animal Hospital (CAH) in September 2019.

The judges were impressed with how SCAR has been delivering amazing community outreach programs for many years.  The focus of the SCAR Outreach Program (SOP) is aiding disadvantaged pet owners to increase pet retention & reduce animal relinquishment.  SCAR receive multiple calls and emails daily from local pet owners within their community (Hume City Council area predominantly) who are facing crisis and need assistance to keep their pets. The assistance they need ranges, but the most common requests are for 1) help with desexing their pets and dealing with accidental litters, and 2) help feeding their pets due to the owner facing financial hardship, especially over the pandemic period with an increase in job loss and now exaggerated inflation.

 

 

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