Second Chance coordinators change gears and hit the road.
Saving lives often requires creative thinking and a lot of flexibility. Sometimes it means logging 2,000 miles to transport animals to find their forever homes. For more than 10 years, the Second Chance program has provided a lifeline for overcrowded shelters throughout the West Coast and beyond; transferring dogs, cats, puppies and kittens OHS. This week, Second Chance coordinators Mia Heaslet and Mitchell Rogers stepped away from their usual desk job to hit the road. During a typical work week, Mia and Mitchell spend their time coordinating with other shelters, organizing paperwork, communicating with volunteers and working with the admissions team. However, this week they were called to climb behind the wheel and drive the transport vehicle south to California and back to OHS while Joy, our contract driver, is on vacation. More than 60 dogs and seven cats were scheduled to be transferred from three partner shelters in central California.
“We work with so many amazing people at our partner shelters and this was a great opportunity to meet many of them face-to-face,” said Mitchell. “These shelters operate with very limited resources and visiting them in person was a great reminder of why OHS is committed to giving these pets a second chance.” In 2017, the Second Chance program hit a new milestone, transferring 7,000 animals in to OHS to find loving homes.
The drive down on Monday had some treacherous moments as mountain passes were full of snow and ice. “I don’t know how Joy does this every week,” said Mia. “It is a very, very long drive.” Luckily, the trip back to OHS on Tuesday was smooth sailing.
Mitchell agreed to drive the entire 12-hour drive back to Portland with the precious cargo. “He was very determined to be back to OHS on time,” said Mia. At 6:30 p.m. sharp, close to 20 Second Chance volunteers were at OHS to greet the wary travelers and start the intake process.
How did they manage to pass the time on such a long road trip? “Yeah, we definitely had some moments of carpool karaoke,” smiled Mia. “Hopefully the dogs and cats liked our singing.”
