Celebrating ten years of The Top Dog Film Festival and the people who dedicate their lives to the dogs who need us most.
There are people in this world who see a problem and look the other way. And then there are people like Marisa Debattista — people who see a problem, roll up their sleeves, and spend the next two decades doing something about it.
Marisa is the founder of Second Chance Animal Rescue (SCAR), a not-for-profit charity based in Craigieburn, Victoria, that has become one of Australia’s most beloved animal welfare organisations. But when it all began in 2008, it wasn’t a shelter with kennels and a vet clinic and a community of 88,000 supporters. It was just one woman, a deep sense of compassion, and whatever spare room she had in her home.
Before SCAR existed, Marisa was working as a veterinary nurse by day and volunteering at a local animal shelter in her spare time. It was in those shelters that she witnessed something that would change the course of her life: healthy, loving animals being put to sleep not because they were sick or dangerous, but simply because there wasn’t enough room, enough resources, or enough people who cared.
For many people, that experience would be heartbreaking but ultimately something you’d try to put out of your mind. For Marisa, it was a call to action she couldn’t ignore.
Determined to make a real difference, she founded SCAR from her living room — taking in as many animals as she could physically fit into her home, nursing them back to health, and finding them loving families. It was unglamorous, exhausting, and entirely driven by love.
What’s remarkable about SCAR’s story isn’t just the scale of what it has become — though that is truly remarkable. It’s the proof that one person’s refusal to accept the status quo can create something that outlasts and outgrows anything they could have initially imagined.
From Marisa’s living room, SCAR grew steadily. In April 2015, after years of planning and fundraising, the organisation opened its first dedicated animal shelter in Campbellfield, Victoria. Four years later, the growing demand for their work led to a move to a much larger facility in Craigieburn, which today houses a full animal shelter, a Community Animal Hospital offering low-cost veterinary care, and a suite of outreach programs that serve the broader community.
The numbers speak for themselves. SCAR now has hundreds of volunteers, over 120 foster carers who open their homes to animals not yet ready for adoption, and a vibrant online community of more than 88,000 supporters. Their free Pet Food Pantry has distributed over 1.2 million meals to pets in need. Their Safe House for Pets program — launched in January 2020 — provides emergency boarding for animals belonging to people escaping domestic and family violence, helping families leave dangerous situations sooner without having to abandon the pets they love.
What sets SCAR apart, and what reflects Marisa’s original vision so clearly, is the understanding that animal welfare doesn’t exist in isolation from human welfare. The animals that end up in shelters often come from families experiencing hardship — financial stress, housing insecurity, health crises, or domestic violence. SCAR addresses all of it.
Their Community Animal Hospital offers accessible, low-cost veterinary care to all pet owners regardless of their financial situation, keeping animals in their homes rather than surrendered to shelters. Their outreach programs provide free pet food and emergency support. Their Owner Assisted Rehoming Program helps people find new homes for pets they can no longer care for, without the trauma of a formal surrender.
It is a model of compassion that radiates outward — from the animals, to their owners, to the entire community.
Marisa Debattista started SCAR because she couldn’t stop thinking about the animals that didn’t make it. That kind of moral stubbornness — the refusal to shrug and move on — is rare, and it deserves to be celebrated.
Today, SCAR is not just a rescue organisation. It is a lifeline for thousands of animals and families every year. It is proof that shelters don’t have to be places of last resort, but can be hubs of healing, community, and second chances.
And it all started because one veterinary nurse decided that witnessing a problem wasn’t enough — that she had to be the one to solve it.
To support Second Chance Animal Rescue or to find out about adopting, volunteering, or fostering, visit secondchanceanimalrescue.com.au. Every donation, every foster home, and every adoption helps Marisa’s vision keep growing.
All images are credited to Marisa Debattista and The Second Chance Animal Rescue team
