Second Chance Animal Services Celebrates 45,000 Spays and Neuters

EAST BROOKFIELD — In 2006, a few years after opening its doors, a fledgling animal shelter inundated with puppies and kittens recognized the need to offer affordable spay and neuter surgeries to help combat pet overpopulation in the area. Second Chance Animal Shelter, as it was then known, started offering spay and neuter surgeries once a month at the shelter.

Demand was great, and the schedule soon expanded to once a week. The program continued to expand, and last month, the organization marked a milestone when doctors performed the 45,000th spay and neuter surgery in the organization’s history. 

In the past 19 years, Second Chance has grown from a small shelter to a large animal-welfare organization with five locations, including three hospitals and a transport facility. In 2017, it changed its name to Second Chance Animal Services. The North Brookfield hospital sees up to 160 pets weekly at the low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter clinic, the Worcester hospital sees more than 50 per week, and the a third spay/neuter clinic will launch soon at the new Springfield hospital.

“A lot has changed over the years to get us to 45,000 surgeries,” said Second Chance founder and CEO Sheryl Blancato. “In the early days, we could accommodate 15 pets on a surgery day. Today, our highly trained medial team can care for up to 40 pets. We have veterinarians trained in special techniques to be able to do this many surgeries in one day and with the highest quality of care. We’ve created a finely tuned process in order to offer clients an affordable price without sacrificing quality. Our staff treats each patient like it was their own, and I’m so proud of the work they do.”