Heidi and Blair Need Your Help

Posted on March 20, 2020 by

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Heidi and Blair are a bonded pair of sweet little girls that just came to us from Bakersfield. They need a home together ASAP.

Both girls have sever medical issues that we are addressing immediately. Poor Blair has a mass growing near her bits and is fighting kennel cough. Heidi is blind and deaf with a cherry eye in one eye and the worst ears we’ve seen in a long time. Heidi is also riddled with mammary tumors and other masses on her body. It’s clear that they have been neglected for way too long, but we are here to give them a second chance!

We are dedicated to giving these girls the best care possible. We know vet bills for these two are going to be well over $1000 and any help from our friends would be greatly appreciated.

We also would love to get these girls out of boarding and into a foster home together that will care for them while they get the care they need. Right now they are in separate boarding facilities and we would love to reunite them. Our vet in is Corona, CA, so if you live near there and need some company, please consider opening your heart and home to Heidi and Blair.

If you can foster these angels for us, please fill out our adoption/foster application.

You can also call us directly at (805) 687-4674.

If you’d like to donate to Heidi and Blair’s medical bills and boarding fees, here’s how you can help:

PayPal us

https://www.paypal.me/SecondChanceCocker

Send a check to

SCCR, PO Box 1419, Twain Harte, CA 95383

We also take Venmo

(805 687 4674 or elizabeth.mazzetti@gmail.com)

Cash Needs Some TLC

Posted on March 10, 2020 by

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Cash was living with a family for many years when he started to bite their child. They called us and we happily took him on. How do you say no to a face that cute?!

Once we met Cash, was immediately obvious what the problem was. He had very painful ear infections and one ear has a growth in it. The ears are causing him lots of discomfort and made him super cranky. He is very reactive to them being touched. Poor guy. Cash needs a dental too as his teeth are not so nice and one of his molars is broken. To make matters worse, Cash also has a huge tumor on his mouth.

Cash has a raging 5/6 heart murmur on top of all of his other heath problems. We took an x-ray to see what exactly is going on. Good news he does not have an enlarged heart. However, due to his age (14) and his significant heart murmur our vet does not suggest putting him under anesthesia for the masses or his teeth.  Cash is eating normally and it really doesn’t appear that anything is painful other than his ears.

This turned out to be a situation where we will make him comfortable for as long as we can and let him live out his last few months/years pain free. Cash is a good dog and we are dedicated to helping him live his best life in a wonderful home.

We will continue to monitor Cash’s health and would greatly appreciate any donations towards his medical care. Please give what you can. Every dollar helps. Cash appreciates it!

Meet The Second Chance Seven

Posted on March 1, 2020 by

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Second Chance Seven

We don’t know if it is that spring is in the air or it is just hoarding season, but we had TWO different hoarding cases land in our laps last week!

First we got Bode and Daniel from a hoarding case in the Northern CA area. They are beautiful boys. Bode is 3 years old and looks like a pure bred Cocker. Daniel is an adorable 5-6 year old cocker mix. They both came from a backyard breeder who had too many dogs.

Then these precious puppies came in. How could we say no to 5 little babies in need of our love and care?!

All Cocker mixes, they are about 9 months old and from a hoarder in the Southern CA area. Paisley, Romulus and Rufus could be triplets and Sadie Girl looks just like them only black and white. Buddy looks like he was not in this litter but came at the same time as the other four. They are all beautiful, but not well socialized. They need some TLC and lots of skilled and gentle handling. We are confident that they will come around quickly and become the best dogs. They are great with other dogs, cats and kids. Buddy might be more cockapoo, but it doesn’t mean we love him any less than his “siblings”. He is a bit more fearful and will need extra patience and support. Buddy and Sadie Girl still need a foster and some help getting them the help they need to blossom.

All of these dogs are fairly healthy for the conditions they were living in. They all need a vet visit, vaccines, microchips and a spay/neuter. We are looking at basic vet bills of at least $150 times 7! That’s $1050 TOTAL!!! Some of the dogs are in boarding awaiting their foster/adoptive homes and our boarding bills are at $850 and mounting every day. We have also paid $300 in transporting fees so far. We know saving these dogs is worth every penny, but we could really use some help offsetting these costs. Please consider donating to the Second Chance Seven! They need your help to get the best start to their next chapters.

If you would like to give Bode, Daniel, Buddy, Sadie Girl, Paisley, Romulus or Rufus a loving home, please fill out our foster/adoption application.

Nothing But A Love Bug

Posted on February 22, 2020 by

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Halley is a very special girl. When the shelter called us they said she was uncontrollable but were hoping we might be willing to try to turn her around. Of course we would! We sent one of our volunteers who is trained to deal with the aggressive kids. The staff popped her in the crate in the car and he drove her home. He managed to get her into the house where she informed him in no uncertain terms that she hated men and all other dogs. She refused to come out of her room, she rushed him when he brought food and snarled and lunged when she heard his dogs. He called me. I drove up to the house and we opened the garage so we would have a quick and quiet exit if I could get her out safely. Sure enough after a few minutes I was able to get a leash on her and walk her outside for a breath of air. Turns out women are OK….thank goodness! She popped into the car and didn’t look back. By the time we were home she was leaning into me and sniffing my hair. She slept with me and cuddled all night just like a normal dog. You would never know it was the same dog.
Reading her paperwork she was only 2 years old and had to be sedated to go to the vet or groomer her whole life. She was good at home but was terrified of men and other dogs. We had seen her reaction to them ourselves. It was way over the top. We can only guess that she had been traumatized badly in her life. Sure enough we had to Ace her to see the vet. We put her on Prozac to help with her PTSD and will work with her to recover from what ever terror she still dreams about. But under that terrified girl was a love bug that I fell hard for. She is going to be the best dog ever when she is ready to go home. Until then we will take it slowly and show her the world is a good place full of good people (men and women).

New SCCR Shirts Are Here

Posted on February 17, 2020 by

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Check out these awesome new shirts that were designed for us!!
$5 from each shirt or sweatshirt sold will go directly to Second Chance Cocker Rescue!!

Get yours today!!

SCCR Birthday Club

Posted on February 16, 2020 by

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We are starting a SCCR Birthday Club! It is free to join and everyone who does gets a birthday fundraiser posted on Facebook for the month of their birthday. You can join, you can sign up your pups or a family member. Just send me your/your pups name, birthday month, amount you want to raise and a picture to post. The picture can be what ever you like.

  1. Fill out the form below.
  2. Send us a picture to post to elizabeth.mazzetti@gmail.com.
  3. We will post your Birthday fundraiser on Facebook on the 1st off the Birthday month and it will run all month.
  4. We will send you a link and you can share the fundraiser to your Facebook page and send to all your friends and family.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

A Shining Spirit

Posted on February 12, 2020 by

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Portia is approximately 9 years old. It’s very clear that she has been used as a breeding dog for most of her life. Portia has a 4/6 heart murmur, corneal scars with cataracts in both eyes, several mammary tumors, crusty skin, alopecia, ear infections, and more. This little girl was sitting in the medical ward at the Downey shelter just waiting for her last day! With the help of @hitlivingfoundation, we were able to offer Portia a second chance at the life she deserves!

Despite everything she has been through, Portia has a shining spirit and a sweetness that will melt your heart! Her tail hasn’t stopped wagging since she left the shelter. Portia is great with other dogs and people. She has not been tested with cats or kids yet.

Portia will be undergoing a full medical work up before she will be available for adoption. Portia will have a long and expensive road ahead of her and we are in desperate need of your support! Please click on the button on this post to donate to Portia’s medical care! Every amount is appreciated!

 

A Deluxe Version Of A Doggie Resort

Posted on February 8, 2020 by

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It seems like forever but it has only been a few short weeks since we were given the all clear to start building our kennels. Well, we have started! The paving company is getting ready to start mapping out the parking lot. But even more exciting we have laid out where the kennels will go and Josh Greener from Hurst Ranch Sheds will be moving on to the property for a week or more of none stop building. We  will take our before and after pictures so you can see the progress. This is a beautiful time of year to be getting ready. The grass is coming out. The days are cold and sharp with the winter air and the sun out and making everything everything feel like spring could be around the corner. However, this is the mountains so we will expect some more rain soon.

We have the funding to build the kennels but need your help getting the insides ready for the dogs. We need to insulate, dry wall and paint the walls ($500 each), tile the floors ($200 each), install a heater ($80 each) and air conditioner ($136 each) in each of the eight kennels. The dogs will need a comfy overstuffed chair or loveseat and raised dog beds. We need 6ft x 12ftx fencing panels to create a fully enclosed outside night run off each kennel for those who need to pee after hours. We intend these to be the deluxe version of a doggie resort. If you have any ideas please let us know.

Each kennel will house 4-6 dogs in a group environment so they will get all the social time they need. They will have approximately a 50 ft x 50 ft run to enjoy during the day so they get plenty of exercise. The kennels are nestled under the trees to take advantage of the shade during the summer months. They will have misters and wading pools to play in during the summer. And jackets and sweaters to keep warm in the winter. Jamestown is below the snow line but still in the Sierra’s.

We can start work on each kennel as soon as it is finished building. We need the funds to buy the building supplies to make our vision reality. Please help!

Some Tax Smart Ways To Contribute

Posted on February 3, 2020 by

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Most everyone contributes to Second Chance Cocker Rescue to help the cockers-not for a tax benefit. For some contributors that itemize their deductions, there is an added tax benefit of being able to include their charitable contributions in their itemized deductions and get a tax benefit from the write-off.
There are some additional ways that some taxpayers may be able to reap tax benefits too. Two of the more popular ways to achieve these tax benefits are:
1. Donor Advised Funds. This is an increasingly popular way to donate to charity-they are easy & convenient to set up and use. Many of the major stock brokerage companies like Schwab Charitable,Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable have user friendly web based applications that make set-up, donating and granting to charities easy. And at a very low cost, with them handling all the record keeping. It allows you to set up your own family’s charitable fund with very low cost(some brokerages as low as  $100). So, here’s how it works & what the potential tax benefits are:
—you set up a donor advised fund at your favorite stock brokerage company(like Schwab,Fidelity or Vanguard), which is very easy to do on-line or over the phone. People typically pick their current stock brokerage company(but it pays to shop around on-line for fees , etc)
—You contribute either cash or assets like stock  you own to your Donor Advised Fund-if you have a brokerage account at the same company as your Donor Advised Fund, its as easy as a few clicks of the mouse or a quick phone call to make the donation. Note: if you donate stock, you avoid permanently all capital gains taxes on the stock that you’ve owned for a year or more —the tax savings here can be significant. For example, if you bought stock a long time ago for $1000 and its now worth $5000, when you donate this stock to your Donor Advised Fund, you avoid the $4000 capital gain permanently. Also you are entitled to a charitable deduction(if you itemize) on the full fair market value of the stock on the date of the donation-a $5,000 charitable deduction in the example given.
—you then decide what charities you want to have your Donor Advised Fund contribute to—you can pick as many as you would like. And there is no time limit as to when you make the donation. It doesn’t have to be the same year as your contribution. You can take as long as you want, so your donations from your fund can take place over several years. And you still are entitled to the charitable deduction the year you make your contribution.
—some taxpayers don’t itemize their deductions, but rather use the standard deduction(currently $12,200 for singles & $24,400 for married filing jointly). For these taxpayers, an  increasingly popular technique is to “bunch” their contributions into one year(do several years of planned giving & make them all in one year) so that the “bunched” contributions now make it worthwhile to itemize(since the bunched contributions push you over the standard deduction amounts) rather than use the standard deduction. Donor advised funds are an ideal way to “bunch” your contributions since you obtain the charitable deduction in the year contributed, but you can make the actual donations out of you Donor Advised Fund over the several years that you otherwise would be having the money go to the charities
2. Qualified Charitable Distributions. As everyone that is 70 1/2 years of age knows(72 years old starting in 2020), the rules are that you must take out a certain amount from your IRA every year(call a Required Mandatory Distribution-or RMD for short). If you don’t make your annual RMD, the penalties can be stiff-a 50% penalty on the RMD amount you failed to make. When you do make the RMD, you are taxed on the amount of each annual RMD as ordinary income-and taxed accordingly. For people that don’t itemized their deductions and use the standard deduction, they don’t get the tax benefit of their charitable contributions.But, there is a way to get the full 100% tax benefit of your charitable contributions. Its by making a Qualified Charitable Distribution(known as a QCD)-you have your IRA Custodian issue a check from your IRA payable directly to the charity. The amount of the QCD(up to $100,000 annually) counts towards your RMD, but isn’t included in your taxable income. So, this is a great way to satisfy your annual RMD and at the same time get the equivalent of a full 100% charitable deduction, even if you don’t itemize your deductions and use the standard Deduction. Commentators advise against using the technique on Roth IRA’s, but it works on traditional and other IRA’s.
Of course, before anyone uses any of the strategies above, they should always check with their own accounting/financial advisors. And with any tax savings, people may decide to donate even more to help our cockers.

PUPDATE ON SHAD

Posted on January 30, 2020 by

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Shad had his surgery last week and he’s recovering nicely.

Both the head tumor (the one near his ear) and the one on his leg were the same. Both were benign, but had come back 3 times so we have to expect it will come back again. He will be living the rest of his life as a sanctuary dog with his forever family. His home will be close to our vet and we will be able to catch it early when the tumors come back.

We will continue to help Shad’s family provide the best quality of life for him. We know he will need continued medical care, and we need your help to give him the best care possible. If you would like to sponsor Shad, please consider becoming a monthly donor. Check out our website for more details on our monthly giving program. Donations can also be made via or PayPal page or by mailing a check to us at:
Second Chance Cocker Rescue
PO Box 1419, Twain Harte, CA 95383

All donations go to provide for the medical care and daily needs of our many cocker spaniels in need of a second chance. We thank you for your generosity!