The facility takes in animals from all across Maryland . “ Most of them come from Montgomery County where we are located , but a sizable number come from Frederick , Anne Arundel , Prince George ’ s and Howard counties . Even the Eastern Shore at times ,” Monsma says .
Society has “ changed the environment so drastically .” Monsma explained , “ We ’ ve made it very convenient and enjoyable for [ people ] with roads and big windows …[ and ] [ p ] esticides to keep our lawn nice and green , but all of those things are perilous to animals . We ’ ve made their existence a daily obstacle course with life and death consequences . Every day they face these perils so , of course , the victims mount up .”
The private , nonprofit facility is one of few in the state that aids wildlife . “ Gone are the days when people [ will ] just walk by an injured animal ,” he affirmed , “ nowadays people stop and ... are desperate to get it help .”
The problem is most people don ’ t know how to help . “ They are looking for someone who is experienced , competent , has the right permits , has the right set up , and can do this in a way that the animal really benefits ,” Monsma noted . “ For all those 3,000 animals , somebody brought them [ here ,] so people are very grateful to find we exist and we will take good care of [ those ] animals .” For the amount of care they provide , Second Chances charges nothing to the folks who bring in animals . “ We never want to see [ a bill ] stand between an animal and the care it needs ,” he asserted .
Since this facility takes care of so many different species , there are a wide variety of injuries that they treat — ranging in severity . For example , turtles often come in after being hit by cars or lawn mowers , birds are hurt by cats or by flying into windows , snakes get tangled in garden netting , hawks and owls suffer from West Nile Virus or starvation if they are inexperienced hunters .
The facility accommodates extended stays for injured animals , and the length of a stay can vary depending on the extent of those injuries . For example , a bird that hits a window may get some medicine to bring down brain swelling and can be released the next morning . The snake that got tangled in the garden netting may be cut loose and let go that afternoon . The longest hospitalizations are usually turtles when they get hit by cars because their shells must be put back together and cemented into place . “ Turtles , as I say , do everything slowly including heal … we might have those animals for as long as a year ,” he added .
“ Some of the animals , we save their life , but for some reason they can not survive in the wild ,” Monsma continued , “ they may be missing an eye or not be able to fly .” In that case , “ we work with a group that adopts them and keeps them as their educational animals . They go around to schools , [ but ] not every animal is temperamentally suited for that .”
The goal is always to rehabilitate an animal and release it back into the wild . Monsma marvels
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