Second Chance Wildlife Center Gaithersburg, Maryland

Does anyone know ONE animal that was rescued or survived this place? They killed the bird we brought it in the very next day :(

Very nice person who is in charge there. Beautiful location

Second Chance has assisted with caring for a number of injured animals I have brought into their facility. The staff is very helpful and they always take great care of the wildlife that comes to them. Their main goal is to rehab & release orphaned and injured animals back into the wild and I think they do a wonderful job. I’m so grateful to have them in my area.

The individuals working here are angels, and it's amazing that we have access to them when we need them. I recently brought in a turtle who had unfortunately been run over by a car, and was likely in a tremendous amount of pain. They took him in immediately upon my arrival and started calling their Vet to see what they could do. Unfortunately the little turtle ended up too severe for help and had to be euthanized, but I'm happy he spent his last moments without pain, surrounded by people who cared rather than dying slowly in the street.

I’ve taken many injured animals to them over the years. They are so knowledgeable, kind and helpful. Please consider sending them a donation. They are in the process of building a facility that will meet their needs. They have outgrown the old farmhouse they have been in for years. Help our wildlife here in Montgomery county.

8m very grateful for this place . I found a baby squirrel and dropped her off they took it in and will take care of it and release it to the wild. Thanks again

Wonderful experience with them after rescuing a baby squirrel. Very dedicated people, kind and knowledgeable.

I agree with the person below. It should be called "NO CHANCE" Years ago this place was be run by two very caring and compassionate rehabilitators, Chris and Polly, and you could see their hard work by the animals there, but no longer. I brought a baby squirrel there that looked JUST LIKE the one pictured on their WEB PAGE! I researched what to feed it, took care of it for a few days before taking it there. He was growing hair and active, but I wanted to bring him to the experts to get the best of care. They meet you on the porch now so you don't go inside anymore. I didn't hear or see any animals. They took him inside and came out and said that any squirrel under 4 weeks old they euthanize. I said ok, then give him back to me and I'll take care of him. He said that they couldn't do that and refused to give him back to me, no matter how much I argued. I was horrified. So THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME BACK THAT SWEET LITTLE SQUIRREL SO THAT I COULD CARE FOR HIM AND THEY KILLED HIM. They took his second chance away. I wish I could turn back time. The only way I would ever go back is if I found an animal that needed to be euthanized

PLEASE find somewhere else to drop off injured or orphaned animals, this place in my experience is horrible. They will euthanize animals that can be easily saved just to clear out space or lack of volunteers I’m assuming (so why not just say that instead of accepting the animals??) I went through painstaking and timely efforts to recuse baby animals that they told me they euthanized, I should have just watched Youtube videos on how to rehabilitate animals myself instead of trusting this place and I regret that so much. Plus the volunteers/workers I dealt with were very unfriendly and rude!

Honestly I’m so disappointed in this place they don’t deserve a 1star. I found an eastern box turtle that had a bum leg due to some kind of injury it got in the wild although this turtle was hurt he showed signs of life and I had so much hope that he would be able to be saved trusting this place I brought him in and I asked for constant updates on him they let me know he was eating and showed signs of getting better. I let them know that if he was to need more care that they could not provide I would have happily taken him back and brought him somewhere that had the means to take care of him properly or even donated more money to help get them the tools or means they needed to continue care for him. They did not inform me that they were going to be Euthanizing this turtle or that he was declining in health even tho I had reached out to them several times. This turtle could have been saved and I regret bringing him in the staff when I dropped him off did not seem to care much and they barely answered there emails to update me DO NOT BRING A HURT ANIMAL HERE THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT ANIMALS.

I called this place over and over with no answer until they took their phone off the receiver. I had to hold a baby raccoon until he died because this horrible place couldn't be bothered to answer their phone. I had to figure out how to pick him up to stop him from being attacked further without help from a "compassionate sanctuary." This place should be ashamed of themselves. This poor baby could have stood a chance but because this place wouldn't answer my many calls and then decided to just completely take the phone off the hook so it wouldn't ring, this young animal is dead. I've worked for feline and canine rescues and never in my life would this be my response. Don't waste your time trying to ask this place for help.

You have no authority here. PS this is a kill centre.

These people have lost their way. Think many times before you bring any animal there. They are rude, insensitive, sneaky and have a total lack of regard for life.

I wish I could turn back time.

rude staff. Wish I had another option for the baby that needed rescuing :/

Helped me out with a nestling. So glad they exist!

Our Rat Terrier found a rabbit nest with 5 surviving babies. They told us to put them back, they would be fine and discouraged us from bringing them in. They also advised us not to move the nest even though we've got 2 dogs that would never leave them alone! We made a new nest just outside the fence for protection from our dogs. They told us the mother would likely come back at night but after 2 nights - no activity. Called again and was told to bring them in. They were not at all receptive, told us they were too small to survive and informed us they would likely be euthanized. Very sad and disappointed.

I found a baby bird in my yard and he could not fly yet. His tail feathers were missing, so either he was so young that they hadnt grown in, or maybe some animal had roughed it up. Anyway, my neighbor took the fledgling to her house, and fed it every 20 minutes with a pair of tweezers( to imitate the mothers beak). The baby ate alot!! My friend was grinding up meal worms, and mixing them with baby food and sweet potatoes. After TEN DAYS and my friend being exhausted, we drove the fledgling to Second Chance because even though his tail feathers DID grow in, he needed to be with other birds so he could learn from them before he was set free. Second Chance employee was getting our bird checked-in when two other people drove up with tiny babies too: a tiny possum and then a just- hatched bird that looked like an embryo. The Sanctuary gladly received all of them. I was happy that my friend gave them a generous donation before we left our sweet bird there

Definitely disappointed with this place. I found a baby bird yesterday afternoon that needed help and contacted them. I sent them a picture of the bird and was told to bring it in. They close at 5 and I was told if I pulled up at even 5:01 they wouldn't take it so I kept the bird overnight until they opened the next day. I drove over an hour to get the bird to them only to be told they would euthanize it if I left it there. I was later told by another wildlife rehab that they have developed a negative reputation amongst other rehab centers because they take more donations than they do animals. Very unfortunate. I would not recommend donating to this place.

Found a little baby bird that was on the ground. No nest or mother in sight. I took the little bird over to them and they took it in and cared for it.

Had a baby bird covered in oil at my shop. Called Second Chance and without hesitation they told me to bring it down and they would clean it up.

A bird was injured in my backyard. I called this place to ask if they could help if I brought the bird in and got a woman who gave me an attitude and told me to leave the bird alone, that it was a fledgling. I told her but it looked like an adult bird, and her response was that I’d have to take a picture and then send it to their email on their website and someone would get back to me. Like sure, let me just keep this bird in a towel while I wait for an email. We left it alone like she said and the poor thing died a little over an hour later after suffering alone on the ground. Maybe there is nothing they could have done, but no need to be short with the people keeping an eye out for the very wildlife they are aiming to help. Just a very disappointing experience.

They took the baby squirrel and we left a small donation. Every other place said they were too full. What a blessing this place is.

Very caring and dedicated staff. They gave a wonderful treatment to the baby squirrel I took there.

Found a place that I'm not going to for my birthday......

I found a gosling separated from its parents. Second chance helped him become wild again. Thank you!

I called them when I found a baby raccoon a few years back. They told me they didn't take them but gave me the name of another place. They also said, "Make sure not to touch him" to which I flippantly replied, "Oops, too late for that." Here's why it is a one star. They went to some trouble to report me. I'd gotten the little guy to a wildlife rehabilitator who did take raccoons. By the time the state found him and killed him it had been three days. He was thriving. They checked and he didn't have rabies. That was pretty obvious -- I'd researched and a young raccoon with rabies would be a) unusual & b) fairly easy to tell. (It is harder with adult raccoons, but a young one would not be thriving.) I still cry when I think about this guy, and all they had to do was opt not to call the state.

We found an injured baby rabbit they took such good care of it. God bless these guys ????

Two years ago I took some baby opossums to Second Chance Wildlife Rescue on the advice of my vet. Their mother had been killed, and I knew the babies had a chance because they had their fur. My vet takes in injured wildlife but is not set up to nurse baby animals. Apparently, baby possums are particularly tricky to nurse. Two months after I dropped them off, I received a letter stating that all 4 babies had survived and had been released back into the wild. I have been donating monthly to Second Chance ever since.

I don't know what I would do if I couldn't bring injured animals here. I've been doing so for at least 20 years. They have always been so patient, caring and informative. Thanks for ALL you do!