This holiday season, so many of us want to be anywhere but home. But for stray and abandoned cats and dogs, the only thing they're asking Santa Paws for this year is to go home.

Last year, one-year-old Wafer spent the holidays out in the cold. As beloved family pets enjoyed the warmth provided by safe shelter and loving humans, Wafer's best bet was to survive the winter in storm drains and bushes. As a stray in need of a second chance, this tabby cat luckily caught the eye of a good Samaritan who contacted Second Chance to see if we could help with a kitty whose arm "looked a little funny." Wafer arrived at our adoption center on December 31, 2019 and rang in the new year with the promise of a new life.

Upon assessing Wafer's arm at intake, we had to agree it looked a little funny--it was frozen in place, held out from her body and bent at an angle. She had surely been injured long before, so her arm had atrophied.

Because of our generous donors, Wafer received high-quality medical care immediately; though the injury appeared to have happened long enough ago so as to no longer cause her any pain, her arm was entirely useless to her when it came to walking, running, playing, or climbing. Worse, in its permanent position protruding from her body, it was actually a hindrance and a risk: it could be bad news if her arm got caught on, or in, something. We amputated Wafer's arm and, with youth on her side, she healed beautifully.

Injured and alone in December, healing and hoping in January, Wafer did soon get to celebrate one holiday in style: just before Valentine's Day 2020, she found the love of her life. She met her match in Carson and went to her forever home on February 8, where she is safe and spoiled. You can see Wafer--now Mia--jump, pounce, and run at home: click HERE now!

While Wafer spent the summer in the comfortable cool air of her new home, not all animals were so lucky. Back in July, good Samaritans looking out for a few roaming dogs asked Second Chance if we could take them once trapped. We committed to all four dogs, but unfortunately, two of the dogs that they referred to as Romeo and Juliet evaded capture for some time.

With deer cams set up at the feeding stations, it became clear by August that "Juliet" was pregnant, and by September that she had given birth. Trapping efforts were paused so that she could nourish her babies in her den and get them through the first few precarious weeks.

After observing what appeared to be an injury, the locals knew it was time to trap the pack so mama could get the help she needed. For hours, they searched for her den. Mark Dove, heading the local MARN rescue team, found what he believed to be mama's old den and, from there, followed a dirt trail until he found the babies in the base of a tree trunk.

Mark scooped the puppies out and used some of them to successfully lure mama into a trap.

Renamed Gingerbread, she now lives in the safety of a foster home, and all 8 of her babies are happy, healthy, and thriving. You can see the moment the puppies were found and how mama ran into the trap to reunite with her babies, plus photos of all the puppies: simply click HERE now!

Cats like Wafer and dogs like Gingerbread and her babies deserve the world--but they ask for even less. They just want to be given the gift of a home.

Not a storm drain, not a tree trunk--a true, proper home, where they can depend on their families to meet their needs and love them all of their lives. Our staff and volunteers are ready to receive the stray and abandoned cats and dogs who need help, we are ready to give them shelter and nutritious food and medical care, we are ready to get them home--but we cannot do this life-saving work without your support.