The DeWitt County Animal Shelter was formed in the early 70's after a new law was passed in Illinois that required counties to establish an Animal Control Program. The Shelter was built around 1972 or 1973, as required by this law, and according to state specifications. Current Administrator and Animal Control Officer is Tammi Dash and Dr. Mary Ella Mennenga, DVM, is the Animal Control Veteranarian. For many years there was no adoption program at the Shelter, so the animals were euthanized when they weren't reclaimed. In January 1991 though, that all changed when the DeWitt County Board passed a new Animal Control Ordinance that allowed animals to be adopted from the Shelter. Since that time, two not-for-profit organizations have helped adopt out animals from the Shelter. The current organization is Second Chance for Pets. The organization donates food, supplies, vaccinations, and vet care when needed for the Shelter animals.
Second Chance for Pets
Second Chance for Pets is a not-for-profit organization, begun in 1998 and made up of volunteers, most of whom have full-time jobs away from the Shelter. We work closely with DeWitt County Animal Shelter, Animal Control, and the DeWitt County Vet Administrator. We constantly strive to find suitable adoptive homes for the Shelter animals, through ads and pictures placed in the local newspapers, and on the Petfinder website. Because of this, hundreds of animals have been saved and have avoided death by euthanasia. We also rely on good foster homes to care for animals from the Shelter until permanent homes can be found. We pay for vet care for any Shelter animal or foster care animal that has need, and furnish distemper vaccinations to all animals in the Shelter and foster homes. We also pay for internet service and maintain this website on Petfinder, so that the animals can have as much exposure to future adoptive homes as possible.
Needless to say, we are always in need of volunteers and good foster families. We also accept monetary donations to help with all of these efforts. Our future dream is to raise enough money to build an animal care facility, as we do not have a building of our own. To volunteer or make a donation, PLEASE call 217-935-3488 and leave a message, or mail to: P.O. Box 243, Clinton, IL 61727. Also, if you are interested in adopting any of the animals you see online, call us and one of our volunteers will return your call within 24 hours. This is only if you call Second Chance at 217-935-3488. Our adoption fees vary as some pets require more vet care than others, but are in no way unreasonable.
OUR MISSION IS TO HAVE NO HOMELESS OR UNWANTED ANIMALS AND TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP BY SPAYING AND NEUTERING.
Please pay close attention to the animal's description, as there may be an additional phone number to call. Some of our pets are in foster homes and the best person to tell you about them is their foster parent.
Directions:
From the West: From Springfield, Illinois, take Rt. 54 East to Clinton. Take Rt. 54 (turns into Van Buren Street) through Clinton to the Rt. 54 & 10 intersection, then take Rt. 10 to S. Alexander Street, then turn right (South), then go to a T-road (E. Jemima Street), turn left (East) and go 1/2 block to S. Cain Street, then turn right and go approx. 1/2 block to the Shelter on the right (West) side. The Shelter is located across from Wallace Computer Services.
From the East: From Champaign, Illinois, take Rt. 10 West to Clinton and turn left at Monical's Pizza onto E. Jemima Street, then go 1 block to S. Cain Street and turn left, then go 1/2 block to the Shelter.
From the South: From Decatur, Illinois, take Rt. 51 North to Clinton to the 4-way stop light and turn right (East) onto W. Van Buren Street (Rt. 54 East) and go to Rt. 54 & 10 intersection, then take Rt. 10 to S. Alexander and turn right, then go south to a T-road and turn left onto E. Jemima Street, then go 1/2 block to S. Cain Street and turn right. The Animal Shelter is 1/2 block on right.
From the North: From Bloomington, Illinois, take Rt. 51 South to Clinton Business 51 South, go south to a 4-way stop sign, then turn right and follow Rt. 51 South (Grant Street) to the second stop light. Turn left at the stop light onto E. Van Buren Street (Rt. 54 & 10) and go to the intersection of Rt. 54 & 10, then take Rt. 10 (right lane) to S. Alexander Street, then right to a T-road. Turn left at the T-road (E. Jemima Street) and go 1/2 block east to S. Cain Street and then turn right (South) and go 1/2 block to the Animal Shelter. The Shelter is across from Wallace Computer Services.
