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One Month In, Second Chance Canine Opens Their Doors One Month In, Second Chance Canine Opens Its Door

The group is part of a growing local effort trying to help stray dogs

By Harry Kelly

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© 2019 Jake Graziano

Harry Kelly: This Pit Bull Terrier, Bailey, is one of 15 stray dogs currently living in the shelter. Jaclyn Rosenberg is the supervisor of Second Chance Canine. She says her job involves making sure the dogs don’t have to stay for long.

Jaclyn Rosenberg: Our mission is to take the strays that are in need of help and find them their homes where they can be loved and cared for.”)

Kelly: Rosenberg, a Syracuse native, moved from a similar job out west to help the organization fix the issue of stray dogs in the area.

Rosenberg: That’s why I come from Oregon back to my home state is to help the dogs in need. They all are worth saving and needing the love and care that they don’t get.

Kelly: Now this property sat dormant for about three years because of COVID. But in late 2023, the mayor’s office of Syracuse decided that it needed to be reopened for stray dogs because the police were catching so many of them without any shelter to put them in. And Troy Waffner of the CNY SPCA says that this is only going to grow in importance as the crisis continues to mount.

Troy Waffner: Last year we took in 600 stray dogs. And, you know, we advertise them because we assume they’re lost dogs, dogs that got away from their owners, whatever. So we always advertise them as last dogs. And only a third of the owners actually come forward to claim them.

Kelly: Rosenberg and Waffner both agree there are two main reasons for the rise: people getting rid of dogs they got during COVID and financial insecurities. Second Chance Canine is now going to be holding open adoption events, starting on Saturday. Rosenberg says anyone interested must be ready to put in not only money but time.

Rosenberg: Do you have the time that you need to dedicate to that animal? And if you’ve said yes, you can then go forward. We definitely encourage that you rescue because there are a lot of dogs in need.

Kelly: Harry Kelly, N-C-C News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The Second Chance Canine Adoption Center in Jamesville will be holding the first of many open adoption events on Saturday, April 6 at its facilities.

It has been one month since the group re-opened its doors to the public, and so far, they have 15 dogs in their shelter.

Jaclyn Rosenberg, the supervisor of Second Chance Canine, says her job involves making sure none of the dogs have to stay for long.

“Our mission is to take the strays that are in need of help and find them their homes where they can be loved and cared for,” said Rosenberg.

Second Chance Canine is part of a growing local effort to help reign in the large number of stray dogs in the area.

Rosenberg, a Syracuse native, moved from a similar job out west to help the group fix that very problem.

“That’s why I come from Oregon back to my home state to help the dogs in need. They all are worth saving and needing the love and care that they don’t get,” said Rosenberg.

For about three years, the Second Chance Canine property sat dormant due to funding drying up because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But in late 2023, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh helped lead a local effort to re-open its doors after police said they had nowhere else to put stray dogs.

Troy Waffner, the CEO of the CNY SPCA, has seen firsthand just how bad the numbers have gotten.

“Last year we took in 600 stray dogs. And, you know, we advertise them because we assume they’re lost dogs, dogs that got away from their owners, whatever. And only a third of the owners actually come forward to claim them,” said Waffner.

Rosenberg and Waffner both agreed there are two main reasons for the rise: people getting rid of dogs they got during the coronavirus pandemic and financial insecurities.

In order to bring down the large number of strays stuck in the shelter, adoption rates will have to be higher than normal.

But anyone wanting to adopt must be ready for what it entails. Rosenberg says people must be ready to put in not only money but time.

“Do you have the time that you need to dedicate to that animal? And if you’ve said yes, you can then go forward. We definitely encourage that you rescue because there are a lot of dogs in need,” said Rosenberg.

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