In tough economic times, the number of dogs without homes increases. Second Chance works to keep these pets where they belong, at home, loving and being loved.
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P.O. Box 2622, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 707/964-7770
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Update for July, 2025:
This year, the first Friday of July was the 4th, the Independence Day holiday, and due to the cutback in federal funding for safety net programs, such as food assistance, our Fort Bragg Food Bank is now closed on Thursdays. So, we had to have our July free flea/tick repellent and much more clinic on the first Wednesday of the month, July 2. In almost 18 years that we’ve been holding these monthly events at the Food Bank, this was our first-ever First Wednesday clinic. We’d had a couple of First Thursdays over the years, but never a First Wednesday. We did not know whether the upcoming holiday would yield a larger than usual turn-out Or if, being creatures of habit that we humans are, the event being on a different day of the week would lead to a small turn-out. Those past First Thursdays have seen smaller crowds, and this First Wednesday was also a smaller turn-out. Interestingly, the hour-by-hour activity was the reverse of the usual pattern, with the hour from 1 to 2 pm being much busier than 11 to 12. We did have one repeat client call Wednesday morning to ask when we would be at the Food Bank, since we couldn’t come on Friday. I told her that we would be there in a couple of hours, and she did come and get repellent and treats for her dog. Several other clients called on Thursday and even on Friday, and I had to tell them we’d be there again on August 1st. For you folks on the south coast, we hope soon to have satellite Second Chance monthly events in Point Arena. And for you folks with cats, we hope soon to find a discount vendor for flea/tick repellent for cats. The Frontline Gold for cats we were given by County Animal Care proved to be a gig hit, and another such product, Cherestin for cats, has also been recommended to us. Unfortunately, our regular vendor for canine flea/tick repellent for dogs, Sierra Pet Meds, who gives us such a wonderful discount, does not have access to those products for cats, so we are having to search the net for another discount vendor for at least one of those products. Second Chance will next be at the Fort Bragg Food Bank on August 1, from 11 am to 2 pm. That is the first Friday of that month, and the address is still 910 N. Franklin St. in Ft. Bragg. It is important, even if your dog is not scratching right now, that you keep the barrier to fleas and ticks up every month, so we hope to see everyone and their dogs at the Food Bank on August 1. |
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Second Chance began in 2003 as Second Chance Rescue for Small Dogs. At that time there were very few small dogs available for adoption in Mendocino County. And there were more and more older people retiring here, people who would love the company of a small dog. In the San Francisco Bay Area there were many small dogs looking for good homes but stuck in overcrowded animal shelters. We started bringing the supply to meet the demand: we brought mature, small dogs and found homes for them in Mendocino County with folks who wanted a mature little dog. In four years we found homes for over 110 dogs.
Even before doing the rescue, we started in the 1990s bringing up thousands of pounds of dry dog food to the Ft. Bragg Food Bank to distribute to its dog-owning clients. We are continuing this program, since there are still many folks who can barely afford to feed themselves. Yet their dog is their family, so it has to eat too. We currently donate 250 pounds weekly to the Food Bank. In 2007 we started providing free canine spay/neuter for coast dog owners trying to make it on a limited income. (Other organizations do the same for cats and for inland residents.) We pay for the operation when the low-income coast dog owner brings his/her pet to the spay/neuter clinic at the Mendocino Coast Humane Society. Preventing the birth of puppies for whom there are no homes is one of our most important, most humane programs. We currently fund around 125 canine spay/neuters annually. In 2008 we began helping low-income coast dog owners with vet bills for their pets. We can’t afford to pay the whole bill, but we can provide enough for folks to get their sick or injured pets seen by a veterinarian and to start care. Currently, we provide up to $200 per dog per year for such help. In November 2008, just in time for Thanksgiving, we started providing free flea/tick treatments for the dogs of clients of the Ft. Bragg Food Bank. We continue to do this the first Friday of every month, and now average about 100 dogs monthly. We now also provide free collars, leashes, and sweaters for those dogs. And we give them treats and toys, too. Starting in 2022, we also give Glucosamine tablets to the older dogs and Omega-3 diet supplements for those with skin problems. In 2010 we held our first annual free canine shots clinic (including microchip id’s) at the Ft. Bragg Food Bank. We’ve helped over 130 dogs annually at these clinic. We now offer the clinics twice a year, to reduce crowding and to allow our volunteer veterinarian and the County Care-A-Van staff to provide a more thorough vet exam for each dog. We give rabies shots, kennel cough injections, boosters for parvo, distemper, leptospirosis, hepatitis, and parainfluenza, as well as injections of microchip identifications. The free rabies shots, boosters, and microchips are also provided at the time of spay or neuter. In 2014, to combat puppy deaths from parvo, we added free puppy shots to our list of services. And in 2021, with the help of the Mendocino Coast humane Society, we started offering free nail clips and those rabies or booster shots anytime (with an appointment) at their facility. Second Chance is a project of Hayward Friends of Animals S.P.C.A. HFoA was founded in 1988 by Jeanne Gocker and Steve Sapontzis (recipients of the 2015 Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award from the City of Hayward) and has worked throughout northern California to help animals. We are a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, public-benefit, 501(c)(3) charity. We are an entirely volunteer organization, even our office space and most of our administrative expenses are donated, so that all the funds we receive can be devoted to helping animals. All donations to Second Chance qualify as itemized deductions on both your federal and state individual income taxes. And all funds donated to Second Chance are spent to help animals in Mendocino County. Second Chance does NOT receive any sort of government funding. We welcome your help and support. SERVICES PROVIDED BY SECOND CHANCE FOR DOGS OF LOW-INCOME PEOPLE ON THE MENDOCINO COAST
Free dog food. The food is distributed by the Fort Bragg Food Bank, 910 N. Franklin Street, Fort Bragg
Free flea/tick repellent. The repellent is given out the first Friday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ft. Bragg Food Bank. Free Glucosamine tablets, collars, leashes, harnesses, sweaters, blankets, toys, and treats are also available at those times. Free canine spay or neuter. The operations are performed at the Mendocino Coast Humane Society in Ft. Bragg, 19691 Summer Lane. Call 964-7770 to sign up. Free microchip dog identifications, rabies shots, kennel cough injections, and annual vaccinations. These are provided at the Ft. Bragg Food Bank from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. the first Friday of April and of October. Simple vet exams and treatments are also provided at those times. Free puppy shots (series of three). Call 707-964-7770 to sign up. Financial assistance to get sick or injured dogs seen by a veterinarian. The assistance is limited to $200 per dog per year. Prior to treatment, call 707-964-7770 to sign up. All Second Chance services are to help pet owners whose annual family income is less than $30,000 feed and care for their dogs. SC’s service area is limited to the coastal part of Mendocino County. 
RECENT NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ABOUT SECOND CHANCE
This article was published in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat on Valentine’s Day, 2021. The article included more pictures but was spread across several pages interspersed with many advertisements. This file contains the full text, one of the pictures, but none of the ads. Second Chance nonprofit a lifeline for Mendocino coast dogs DIANNE REBER HART FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT February 13, 2021 Fort Bragg residents Steve Sapontzis and Jeanne Gocker know better than most the bond that exists between dog owners and their beloved canines. Through their nonprofit, Second Chance, which assists low-income dog owners along the Mendocino coast, they’ve encountered numerous people who adore their dogs and would do most anything for their welfare. One woman was willing to sell her wedding ring so she could afford veterinary care for her beloved pet; a man was ready to part with his treasured collection of vintage record albums to fund his dog’s surgery. “It’s an unquestioning bond,” said Sapontzis, a California State University East Bay professor emeritus of philosophy and ethics and author of “Morals, Reason, and Animals.” Second Chance provides services so dog owners who are homeless or barely making ends meet won’t find their pets in dire circumstances. Sapontzis and Gocker and their dedicated team of volunteers host monthly first-Friday clinics at the Fort Bragg Food Bank, where clients can pick up flea and tick treatments, dog food, treats and merchandise ranging from dog toys, collars, harnesses and leashes to handcrafted dog blankets, sweaters and jackets — all free, with an honor system in place. “We’ve been there through hailstorms and whatever,” Sapontzis said. “Rain or shine, and sometimes it’s pouring all day long, we’re still there waiting for the animals,” said Gocker, a retired teacher who taught typing, secretarial skills and English as a second language during her long career at Piedmont High School near Oakland. It’s not just the Second Chance team that endures the weather. Dog owners, many of them elderly, overlook inclement weather for the benefit of their pets. Typically 100 to 125 dogs show up with their owners each month. The demand has gone down significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, with clinic modifications in place to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Most people now leave their dogs at home and stop by briefly to pick up supplies. “Some truly love their animals and will do anything for them,” Gocker said. “These people will come out in the pouring rain. That’s dedication and shows how much people care.” The all-volunteer organization also funds spay and neuter services and offers limited — but crucial — financial help for veterinary care for sick or injured dogs. Second Chance started working with Mendocino County spay and neuter programs in 2007, providing funding to help reduce pet overpopulation and animal suffering. It covers about 100 canine spay-neuter procedures annually. Twice a year, clinics provide basic veterinary care, microchipping and dog and puppy vaccines. During the pandemic, services are provided by appointment at a local Humane Society. There’s been a consistent need since Second Chance was founded more than a dozen years ago, with services gradually added. “We started out small, then opportunities came to expand and we did that,” Gocker said. Local veterinarian Barbara Weiss is a longtime volunteer and can recall an “overwhelming” response when clinics for vaccinations, rabies shots and basic care were offered annually. “There was so much need,” she said. Spreading services to biannual clinics has helped, with 75 to 80 dogs at each clinic. “People are extremely grateful for what we’re able to do,” Weiss said. She’s been helping the pets of those in need since her days attending veterinary school at UC Davis, when she donated her services helping the pets of homeless people in Sacramento. “It’s a long-standing interest for me,” she said. “This program is an opportunity to carry on doing a similar kind of thing.” Gocker and Sapontzis have been assisting dogs since the early 1980s when they lived in Hayward in the East Bay. They founded Hayward Friends of the Animals, now called Hayward Animal Shelter Volunteers, overseeing efforts to make dogs more adoptable, from grooming them to replacing metal doors with mesh so visitors can see available dogs without looking at their reflection in an overhead mirror. They also started Hug a Pet, a program bringing visiting animals to convalescent homes, with results so touching they still elicit emotion from the couple; one elderly man hadn’t spoken until he had a friendly toy poodle named Teddy on his bed. The man, Gocker and Sapontzis discovered, was a Holocaust survivor. Additionally, they began providing dog food to Meals on Wheels clients who were sharing their lunches and dinners with their dogs, rather than eating the full meals themselves. The couple was awarded Hayward’s prestigious John Pappas Humanitarian Award for lifetime volunteer achievement in 2015, just two years before they relocated to Fort Bragg. While in Hayward, the couple noticed an abundance of small dogs awaiting homes, typically 5 or 6 years old, some with minor health or behavioral issues. Before moving to Fort Bragg, they made numerous visits to the area, where retirees were relocating to picturesque villages and towns. “We noticed things,” Sapontzis said. “There were mostly large dogs up here.” Through word-of-mouth and newspaper notices, they began placing small dogs from the Hayward shelter with coastal residents anxious to have the companionship of a little pooch. They established Second Chance Rescue for Small Dogs in 2003, carefully matching dogs, typically from 10 to 20 pounds, with loving homes. Within several years, they adopted out more than 120 dogs. The couple once had eight dogs themselves, including a “Benji-type dog,” Sapontzis said, that was named Button for being “as cute as a button.” They’d originally placed Button with a woman who developed an allergy to dogs and was devastated she couldn’t keep him. Button was 12 years old “and we couldn’t see him being bounced around,” Sapontzis said. Instead, the couple welcomed him into their family. Their efforts in Mendocino County began in the 1990s when they started bringing excess dry dog food from the Hayward shelter for distribution through the Fort Bragg Food Bank. Today they donate 240 pounds of dry dog food per week to the food bank, through discounts from local feed stores and occasionally from the Hayward shelter, when a friend comes to visit. Second Chance also donates dog food to a soup kitchen in Willits, so those receiving free meals can also nourish their dogs. About five volunteers help staff the first-Friday clinics, more during pre-pandemic days. In addition to their gratitude to Weiss for donating her professional services during the twice-yearly clinics, Gocker and Sapontzis also are thankful for those who help however they can. A local quilting group donates pillows for distribution during the monthly clinics. Fort Bragg retiree Michele Morris knits and crochets dog blankets, especially hopeful she’s helping shivering dogs owned by the area’s homeless. “That’s my way of giving back,” she said. Morris said she’s touched by the generosity of Second Chance clients who have little money but donate their spare change and occasional dollar bills at the clinics. “That’s when you see humanity.” Fort Bragg homemaker Tamara Peebler sews lined cotton dog jackets with Velcro latches. She’s made close to 50 since she began volunteering a year ago. “I’ve always been a lover of animals,” she said, “especially those who need help.” For Albion poet and community volunteer dobby sommer, who uses only lower-case letters in her name, Second Chance has made a world of difference in her life. At one time she had four dogs and received assistance through the nonprofit. “It was very helpful. It was a blessing,” she said. “They were so wonderful and so caring, and you felt that.” She began volunteering 13 years ago as a way of giving back. She sets up tables and chairs during the monthly clinics and monitors doghouse-shaped donation banks at several businesses along the coast. “Steve and Jeanne are just the most wonderful people in the world,” she said. “They’re my heroes.” Fort Bragg retiree Chris Wightman has volunteered with Second Chance since 2014. She oversees the merchandise that’s given away — dogs are fitted for harnesses and wardrobe items — and appreciates the opportunity to lend a hand. Because of the streamlined operations during the pandemic, like offering flea and tick repellent for home application instead of treating dogs at the clinics, fewer dogs are visiting. Wightman said in an email she’s among those looking forward to post-pandemic days when “all our four-legged friends” return in droves. “All of us miss seeing the parade of dogs,” Sapontzis said. “It was kind of a social occasion and so forth.” Second Chance typically operates on a monthly budget of $5,000 to $6,000, with funding through donations, holiday appeals, employee-offered matching funds, bequests and grants. Bay Area-based GLIDE, a center for social justice, is a main contributor. Expenses have been down at least $1,000 per month throughout the pandemic, as people shelter at home. For Gocker and Sapontzis, who have two 5-year-old rescue Pomeranians, Nicky and Ricky, Second Chance is something of a second job. “Sometimes I think we work harder now than when we were teaching,” Gocker said with a laugh. Each donates about 10 hours a week to the cause, often fielding phone calls and making referrals (they direct cat owners to a local agency offering assistance) and assuring the continued success of Second Chance. “It makes life worthwhile,” Sapontzis said. “It’s a way to give back.” Added his wife, “I think it’s our love of animals.” For more information, visit secondchancefortbragg.org or facebook.com/SecondChanceRescueFortBragg. Donations can be made to Second Chance, P.O. Box 2622, Fort Bragg 95437. |
At This Spring's Clinic
Pictures above are thanks to photographer Jeff Lieb
Cute pictures of our doggie clients taken by
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14 Testimonials - Pictures & Comments (link)
Clients can get free dog food every week. We come to the Food Bank once a month to additionally provide free Frontline Plus flea/tick treatments for the dogs, as well as leashes, collars, harnesses, ID tags, and sweaters
Clients can get free dog food every week. We come to the Food Bank once a month to additionally provide free Frontline Plus flea/tick treatments for the dogs, as well as leashes, collars, harnesses, ID tags, and sweaters
https://www.vippetcare.com/ click on image for their site
Cindy Bartalini-Humphrey grew up in Fort Bragg, CA and years later, after moving to Sonoma County. She read about Second Chance Rescue Fort Bragg and wanted to help in some way. What Cindy did over the course of a full year earned her the title of "Second Chance Christmas Angel." Thank you Cindy, Petco Santa Rosa, CA, Debbie's Pet Boutique - Windsor, CA, and all who donated to help the dogs in need who come to Second Chance Fort Bragg's monthly clinics. We are deeply grateful for your kindness and generosity. This video is dedicated to you!
Video produced by Laurie York & Carmen Goodyear of
Mendocino Coast Films.
www.MendocinoCoastFilms.com
Mendocino Coast Films.
www.MendocinoCoastFilms.com
