INTERVIEWS:
We occasionally talk with people that work in animal rescue. Maybe their stories will inspire you to take action for the animals!
New interview: Lynn Hummer, Founder of Pregnant Mare Rescue (2/24/08)
New interview: Beverly Sebastian, Founder of Second Chance at Life (2/24/08)
Older interviews:
Laura Beck of Rocket Dog Rescue (3/25/07)
Abigail Christman, Board Member of Operation Scooby (12/30/06)
How did Second Chance At Life come to be?
“The seed of the idea for a prison program came to me when I was invited to give a seminar on greyhounds in the local juvenile prison in LeCanto, FL. It was my first up close and personal experience in going behind prison doors and meeting forgotten, abused, and unloved young men. When I saw how a greyhound could reach out to a scared, hostile, bitter young man, I knew I had to find a way of sharing the unconditional love our greyhounds have, with other abused and forgotten people. Second Chance at Life: Greyhounds and Prison Partnership was created as a stand-alone national program after much research on not only a few greyhound programs but from all dog programs on the Internet. So it is a combination of the best of all of the programs that show the animal/human bond and what we do for each other. ”
How did you personally get involved in animal rescue?
“As a child I was never allowed to have a pet. Once I was married, my husband Ferd rescued the first dog I ever had when he was in the service. He found a half starved and nearly drowned little black dog named BLACKIE in a culvert on his Coast Guard base, rescued her and brought her home to me. So I always tell him, it was him that got me started in animal rescue. But as for greyhounds, it was me. From then on I picked up every stray around.
My husband and I are former Los Angeles film producers with Paramount Pictures. My grandson asked us to do a movie about dogs instead of the action type films we had always made. About the same time, one of our sons took up to the first greyhound race I had ever seen and I fell in love with the greyhounds. The more research I did, the more incensed I became, and one day we met HAPPY, a blood donor at a local vets. He was the beginning of the National Greyhound Foundation. And so, I started writing a script about HAPPY. Now fourteen years later, the script is complete and will probably be the last film I produce or my legacy one! Its title is RUN, HAPPY, RUN and is a culmination of all I've learned about greyhounds.”
What is a typical day for you like when you are working with/for Second Chance At Life?
“Typically, I'm up at 6:45, we do a bible study class with our greyhounds, start work on the computer until nine, when we take a break and have breakfast at a local cafe with our friends. I usually start work again about 10:30, answering thousands of emails. I work at home most of the time as I live on a beautiful river and can not only be with my greyhounds all day, but get to watch the dolphins play in my river back yard.
If I'm at the foundation I play with the visiting dogs. Most of my work consists of scheduling sessions, checking on prisons, and other foundation business, reading dog summaries which the inmates send in each Tuesday, check on calls to the prisons program directors and the dogs, and office work like that. If I'm really lucky, I get to pick up dogs and work with them, which is what I really love. Once a week I go to the local prisons and check on the dogs. Once each session I try to travel to one of the states and come to a graduation.”
What are common misconceptions about the dogs that you work with?
“Greyhounds are gentle, non-aggressive (except on the hunt) and wonderful dogs. I can't say enough about them. I never met a greyhound I didn't like!”
What is the best thing the average person can do in the interest of these dogs?
“Make a lifelong commitment to love them and give them a forever home. If you cannot adopt one, then sponsor one and its inmate handler in our sponsorship program, and read the heartwarming thanks you'll get from the inmates and their dogs as they go through each session.
At the NGF, we have sponsored many programs, but this is the first program that has healed spirts and saved lives. It truly gives both greyhounds and people a 2nd chance at life. Many of these people have been incarcerated for years and will never get out. Some haven't touched a dog in 30 years. Can you imagine the joy they feel in their hearts when this program comes into their prison. It not only helps to rehabilitate them but gives them hope and unconditional love, and allows them to give something back to the community they have injured.”
-- Second Chance At Life --
photo courtesy of Second Chance At Life