It’s official.Local no-kill animal rescue organization Second Chance will have a $100,000 prize to put toward their ongoing efforts to build a permanent shelter facility in Dryden.After three rounds of online voting and several heartbreaking losses to competing organizations, persistence finally paid off.“There was a real see-saw battle between us and Windsor Humane Society in the fall, again in November December. I think we finished second after we had done so much to put ourselves out there,” said Compardo. “The third round was kind of frustrating, but we couldn’t say ‘no’ — and it happened. I think we got a lot of support from the other animal groups because they know there’s no funding.”The cash influx sets Second Chance’s Build A Shelter Brick By Brick campaign into high gear as the organization sets out to raise over another $100,000 to realize their goal of a permanent no-kill shelter facility in the Dryden area.“It gives us an awfully big boost,” says Second Chance’s Ann Owens. “The preliminary figures are about $250,000 that we will need. With other funds we’ve managed to raise we’re roughly halfway there.”The competition for Dryden’s charity dollar is a fierce one, although Owens says Drydenites are well aware of the lack of funding support provided at the provincial and municipal government levels for their efforts.“They’re all great causes,” said Owens. “Fortunately for us we have a lot of animal lovers in Dryden and the surrounding area. We get very good support. There’s no way in the world we could ever complain about the support we get.”Second Chance currently has an offer on a rural property just outside the city limits and is awaiting further information from the seller.  The volunteer-staffed shelter is considering operating a boarding kennels in an effort to fund the operation.Further fundraising efforts need to progress quickly as there are time limits placed on the use of the Pepsi Refresh Project funds.“We have to have that money spent within a year and it has to cover what it is we said we were going to do — buy land, put up a building, and well and septic,” said Compardo. “The finishing of the building and everything else will have to come from our own fundraising.”

By Chris Marchand