Second Chance Animal Rescue Society - Athabasca

Who We Are

Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS) is a non-profit Athabasca and Edmonton area based registered charity operated by a small group of staff and a large team of volunteers with oversight from a volunteer board of directors. We rely on money raised through donations, sponsorships, grants, memberships, and other fundraising efforts. We celebrated our 20^th year of of operations in 2022.

What We Do

Our mission is to make a positive impact on animals and people by engaging with others to rescue and care for animals in need, share knowledge, and provide access to services and resources. We find loving homes for more than 2,000 animals every year. SCARS is dedicated to reducing the number of unwanted pets in Alberta. We believe there is a suitable home for all homeless pets, young or old.

Intake and adoption

SCARS intakes pets that are stray, unwanted or slated for euthanasia. Many of the pets we help are from remote area dog pounds and veterinary clinics that act as the pound. Every pet receives a veterinary assessment, spay or neuter, vaccinations, a micro chip, and any medical care or rehabilitation it requires. Many pets come to us severely injured or sick.

Our main intake facility is just north of Athabasca. We use the Athabasca Second Chance Country Refuge, our Morinville Rescue Centre, and a network of foster homes to care for rescued pets until they are adopted.

Programs to improve pet wellness and reduce overpopulation

SCARS operates within northern Alberta, partnering with communities that lack access to pet services. Our Spay-Neuter-Return Program provides free spaying or neutering, vaccination and micro-chipping for owned pets, and our Walls for Winter Program provides insulated pet shelters. We also have a Sanctuary Animals Program for animals with special needs that are not highly adoptable and a Working Cat Program to rehome under socialized cats to barn or shop homes.

How to Support SCARS

• Adopt—Our adoptable animals include: Dogs and Puppies, Cats and kittens. Adopting a SCARS rescue involves a few steps. Click here to learn more.
• Donate or sponsor—we issue tax receipts for all donations of $20 or more (online donations automatically receive tax receipts for donations of $5 or more). You can also donate items on our wishlist.
• Sponsor the Athabasca Second-Chance Country Refuge—Help animals by sponsoring our intake facility north of Athabasca. We use this facility to temporarily house many of the animals on their way to our foster homes. We also use it to permanently house many of our sanctuary program pets. Your sponsorship makes it possible for SCARS to help animals in need. You can also sponsor our events
• Volunteer—Become part of a volunteer team that saves animals’ lives. We are always looking for help with fostering, fundraising, transportation, and other aspects of our daily operations (including our facilities). Watch for our next online volunteer orientation on the website.
• Support our events—Attend a SCARS event or hold a fundraiser of our own. We advertise upcoming events on our website and on social media.
• Buy merchandise—Our branded merchandise includes an annual calendar, hoodies, winter gear, cooler bags and much more. 
• Become a member—Show you care by buying an annual membership. 
• Share our stories—help animals by follow us on social media and sharing the stories we post. We are on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.
• Be a responsible pet owner—Please spay or neuter, microchip and vaccinate your pets. All pets need food, water, shelter, veterinary care, exercise, and lots of love and attention.

Learn more at scarscare.ca.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.