Mission
Second Chance Animal Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was established in February of 2000. We rescue, rehabilitate, and locate forever homes for abandoned and neglected dogs found on the streets of Puerto Rico.
Second Chance provides each rescue with food, shelter, medical care and of course, attention! Our goal is to place each rescue into a loving and forever home, however due to extreme suffering on the streets, many go on to live out their lives as a part of our sanctuary family.
These special ambassadors require long term care and are listed on our Sanctuary Page in the hopes of securing sponsorships to help us continue to meet their every need.
The work at Second Chance not only begins with the point of rescue. We continue with our effort to educate and subsequently decrease the number of strays that call the streets their home. In support of our goal, we focus daily on our spay and neuter initiative.
We require that every rescue leave with a complete regiment of vaccinations as well as sterilization. It’s our way of taking control of the islands biggest problem…overpopulation.
Why Puerto Rico
Second Chance Animal Rescue PR: Our parent organization.
How it All Began
The heart of Second Chance begins with the passion of one woman, Bonnie Lukas. After living in the Virgin Islands for 12 years as a sailboat Captain and years working with animals in Connecticut, she settled in Puerto Rico to care for her mother. This was the moment she knew her life would need to take a much different path. Looking around her, she saw an island of neglected and suffering animals… on the beaches, dumps, streets, eventually in our trash and over our fence in the middle of the night, they are everywhere.
Second Chance rescues from unimaginable circumstances… collars so tight that they have become a part of them, breaks so severe that they are compounded and spirits so broken that they are hopeless. “Skin and bones” have a whole new meaning for those that call the streets home.
Unspeakable cruelty that seems to be easily forgiven by every soul rescued. The belief that human kindness must still exist fills their hearts.
Bonnie cradles hope and compassion for those that others have discarded. She’s saved countless on their last days… blind, deaf, amputee’s, wheelchair bound… you name it, she’s embraced them all and given them their unimaginable futures.
There are laws in Puerto Rico for the protection of animals, but sadly are rarely enforced. There is a never-ending crisis that is an ongoing fight that we refuse to let define our spirits. For those of us who still believe there is hope, we forge ahead. Community education and island sterilization will bring about the change each rescue organization dreams possible.
Together, with our stateside support teams, we are making an impact that will forever shape the lives of the animals of Puerto Rico. A hope that is worth our every effort and once you’ve met just one of the islands most precious gifts, you’re quickly realize the impact that every voice can bring.
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