Selma’s Second Chance Animal Shelter gets its own second chance
SELMA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The group that used to run the Second Chance Animal Shelter in Selma has gotten its own second chance at helping Selma’s animals in need.
The Second Chance Animal Rescue of Selma (SCARS), formerly known as the Second Chance Animal Shelter of Selma (SCAS), had its physical facility shut down in December last year. Since then, the shelter’s former staff have wasted no time sheltering animals out of their homes.
All dogs have been rescued, adopted at this shelter in Selma
“It was immediate,” Parveen Sandhu said. “We just didn’t have a facility anymore. We already had dogs we were fostering.”
Sandhu worked at the Second Chance Shelter in Selma and was already fostering a dog that she says she took to the dog’s forever home the very next day. Sandhu says fostering provides a better quality of life for individual dogs than a shelter ever could.
According to Sandhu, dogs can settle into their forever homes more easily when they transition from one home to another rather than from a shelter to a home.
Sandhu says fostering also helps shelters deal with overcrowding and fostering a dog even for just one day can relieve a busy shelter.
“Fostering is absolutely important and needed, even if we were still operating the facility and had very little dogs, we would still want fosters to be able to help.”
Without the facility, Sandhu says they rely heavily on social media and the Second Chance Rescue has immersed themselves in the foster community on social media. She says the community is growing exponentially online and fostering is becoming more common as shelters overcrowd.
“Fostering has always been a thing, but I think it’s come more to the forefront,” Sandhu said. “More and more people are aware of the problem, now with social media.”
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Sandhu says as more and more people get involved in fostering she has the following advice for anyone eager to start helping and foster any animals:
Be mentally prepared. Once you join these groups, it can be overwhelming. You may see a lot of sad stuff.
Be okay with not being able to help every animal. Not every animal is going to be the right fit for you -don’t feel bad because your health and your family come first.
Do not be afraid to take a break.
Sandhu says SCARS is currently looking for a couple of people to foster some of the animals in their care and they urge anyone interested in helping or in need of help to reach out at scas.selma@outlook.com.
