B&C Client for a Cause: Diana Crimi & Second Chance Dogs
Giving stray and mistreated dogs a second chance has been a lifelong passion of B&C client Diana Crimi. When she was five years old, her family adopted a rescue dog and her father’s love of dogs is a legacy that Diana carries on. She rescued dogs while attending Florida State University and Jacksonville University, and continued to do so even with a busy life of being a wife, mother and real estate broker. She paid for veterinarian and food expenses out of her own pocket for over 50 years until a friend offered to help with the paperwork to start a non-profit organization and Second Chance Dogs was born.
Second Chance Dogs is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in McKenna, WA, designed to help rescue, rehabilitate and re-home abandoned, abused, neglected and forgotten dogs into loving forever homes. It is an all-volunteer organization where all funds go to veterinary medical treatments, medicines, food and training assistance when necessary. Every rescued dog is placed into a private foster home until they are ready to be adopted with their forever family. Second Chance Dogs provides the foster homes with food and needed veterinary care. These tireless volunteers place about 200 dogs into permanent homes every year. Anyone adopting one of these dogs goes through a rigorous adoption process, including meeting the dog beforehand and following detailed care instructions for their new pet.
As the Founder and Director of Rescue, Diana is involved in all aspects of the rescue process, including hosting 4-9 dogs in her home at all times. She relies heavily on her volunteers, who also foster multiple dogs and help with all other aspects of running the organization. Unfortunately, there are always more dogs to rescue, so their work is never done. Just recently, they were called by the local police to help in rescuing over 100 hoarder dogs that were living in one home. They were able to take in 46 dogs, all with medical and emotional issues. They are doing all that they can to help these dogs – most importantly, ensuring that they will have a safe life.
Diana shared the story of Rocky, one of her favorite rescues. He was 13 ½ when Diana rescued him off an 8-foot chain. He was not in good condition – he had fleas, was about 33 pounds underweight, had an exposed tumor and was forced to sleep outside, even in the cold and snowy months. When Diana was able to rescue him in February, she didn’t think he would live to see the spring. However, with medical attention, good food, the company of other dogs and lots of loving from Diana, he lived for four more (happy) years.
Even though Second Chance Dogs is doing all that it can to help rescue dogs, there is always a need for more help. They need more volunteers and donations to help give dogs another shot at having a loving family and home. And of course, they are always looking for people who want to adopt a furry family member. To learn more about how you can help, visit www.secondchancedogs.net.
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