‘No-kill’ sanctuary cares for animals
HAYDEN, Ala. — Barks break the morning quiet at 2nd Chance Animal Sanctuary as owner Sandra Shaffer steers her golf cart past a line of dog kennels up the hill from her house.
The dogs see her approaching during her morning rounds. The sound of gravel grinding against the cart’s rubber tires reaches their ears before Shaffer greets each of them by name.
A white-and-red pit mix named Reba — she’s a “redhead,” Shaffer says — does an excited dance atop her plastic doghouse, her tail wagging furiously, as Shaffer stops to talk to her.
“She’s a sweet baby,” Shaffer says of Reba, a nearly 7-year-old dog she rescued from a busy intersection where someone had left her.
Shaffer cares for nearly 46 dogs at 2nd Chance, which she founded as a nonprofit organization in 2006, according to the Shelby County Reporter. She also has about 15 cats, five horses and a variety of other animals living on her 16-acre property in rural Blount County.
As one of only a few no-kill sanctuaries in Alabama, 2nd Chance harbors animals until they are adopted or until they have lived out their natural lives. No animal, regardless of age or health, is euthanized because of space issues at the sanctuary.
Many of Shaffer’s animals available for adoption are considered “seniors” in terms of age, meaning they are 10 years old or older.
Some of the dogs are in the 6- to 8-year-old range. Occasionally, she has puppies available, but Shaffer emphasizes her non-discriminatory approach to accepting animals at the sanctuary.
“Yes, puppies are always easier to adopt, but not everyone wants to do puppies,” she says.
Shaffer does not take animals surrendered by their owners, and she does not pick and choose animals for her sanctuary based on whether she thinks they are good candidates for adoption. She accepts animals that have been abandoned or that are about to be euthanized at a shelter.
Chester, a 10-year-old black dog Shaffer named after “Gunsmoke” character Chester Goode, is one of the beneficiaries of Shaffer’s opendoor policy.
Chester was on “death row” at an animal shelter with only hours separating him from being euthanized when Shaffer met him.
An older gentleman whose job it was to walk the dogs at the shelter before they were put to sleep had been moving Chester to different spots in the building, trying to buy him more time to live.
Shaffer was at the shelter on other business the day before Chester was due to be euthanized, and the man struck up a conversation with her about Chester, asking her to take the dog home.
Tears flood Shaffer’s eyes as she recounts the day she couldn’t say no to the old, black dog with a gentle spirit and a limp.
Many of the animals are awaiting adoption; others are fixtures at the sanctuary. Regardless of their status, Shaffer cares for all of them.
With a steady influx of animals and a not-so-steady flow of donations, however, Shaffer is facing a funding dilemma she can’t conquer alone.