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What are Jail dogs?
Operation Second Chance, also known as The Gwinnett Jaildog Program, started in February 2010 as a partnership between the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office and Dennis Kronenfeld with the Society of Humane Friends of Georgia, Inc. This program rescues dogs from county shelters, vets and trains them and then offers them for adoption to the public. It is, to the best of our knowledge, the first program of its kind in a jail. The Sheriff and his staff provide day-to-day supervision, screen and select inmates for the unit. SOHFGA selects the dogs, provides all veterinary care and training and handles the application and screening process for potential adopters. No taxpayer dollars are spent as SOHFGA provides all financial support for the program.
Started initially with five dogs pulled from the euthanasia list at Gwinnett County Animal Control, The Jaildog Program now houses approximately 20 dogs at a time. Upon arrival at the unit, each dog is assigned a primary inmate handler, in whose room the dog sleeps, plus either one or two secondary handlers. This not only gives more inmates access to the dogs and ability to learn handling skills, but also provides continuity for the dog should one of its handlers leave the unit. Volunteer Trainers visit with the dogs and inmates each week, teaching the inmates how to train and care for the dogs. Basic obedience, tricks, and agility are all taught to the dogs and many have become quite adept at their skills. We also have groomers, veterinarians, vet techs, and other animal welfare volunteers visit the unit to educate the inmates on different issues surrounding the dogs, their care, and ways to reduce pet overpopulation.
Since the program's founding, over 1500 dogs and cats have been rescued, vetted, trained, and adopted into new families. In addition to saving animals, the program also benefits the inmates, giving them new skills in dog training and handling, as well as learning to care for something other than themselves and the knowledge that they have made a positive difference in the life of an animal and it’s new family.
We are grateful for the positive feedback we have received from our inmate handlers and their families. We received this gracious letter from the mother of one of our handlers:
"I want to express my respect and adoration for the wonderful aspects of this Jail Dogs program. I would like to thank all the volunteers and the Sheriff's Office for their dedication to this program. This is a "win-win" situation for everyone involved. As a parent of an inmate, I find peace and comfort knowing my son has had the opportunity to be chosen and to benefit from participating. I would hope this model program is enacted in many states."
If you need further information, or would like to speak with someone, please email us at [email protected].
Click here to visit Society of Humane Friends' main webpage.
Operation Second Chance, also known as The Gwinnett Jaildog Program, started in February 2010 as a partnership between the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office and Dennis Kronenfeld with the Society of Humane Friends of Georgia, Inc. This program rescues dogs from county shelters, vets and trains them and then offers them for adoption to the public. It is, to the best of our knowledge, the first program of its kind in a jail. The Sheriff and his staff provide day-to-day supervision, screen and select inmates for the unit. SOHFGA selects the dogs, provides all veterinary care and training and handles the application and screening process for potential adopters. No taxpayer dollars are spent as SOHFGA provides all financial support for the program.
Started initially with five dogs pulled from the euthanasia list at Gwinnett County Animal Control, The Jaildog Program now houses approximately 20 dogs at a time. Upon arrival at the unit, each dog is assigned a primary inmate handler, in whose room the dog sleeps, plus either one or two secondary handlers. This not only gives more inmates access to the dogs and ability to learn handling skills, but also provides continuity for the dog should one of its handlers leave the unit. Volunteer Trainers visit with the dogs and inmates each week, teaching the inmates how to train and care for the dogs. Basic obedience, tricks, and agility are all taught to the dogs and many have become quite adept at their skills. We also have groomers, veterinarians, vet techs, and other animal welfare volunteers visit the unit to educate the inmates on different issues surrounding the dogs, their care, and ways to reduce pet overpopulation.
Since the program's founding, over 1500 dogs and cats have been rescued, vetted, trained, and adopted into new families. In addition to saving animals, the program also benefits the inmates, giving them new skills in dog training and handling, as well as learning to care for something other than themselves and the knowledge that they have made a positive difference in the life of an animal and it’s new family.
We are grateful for the positive feedback we have received from our inmate handlers and their families. We received this gracious letter from the mother of one of our handlers:
"I want to express my respect and adoration for the wonderful aspects of this Jail Dogs program. I would like to thank all the volunteers and the Sheriff's Office for their dedication to this program. This is a "win-win" situation for everyone involved. As a parent of an inmate, I find peace and comfort knowing my son has had the opportunity to be chosen and to benefit from participating. I would hope this model program is enacted in many states."
If you need further information, or would like to speak with someone, please email us at [email protected].
Click here to visit Society of Humane Friends' main webpage.
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Saving Lives and So Much More...
The Jail Dogs Program does even more than save the lives of hundreds of dogs and cats. It enriches the lives of the animals and their handlers with love, trust, patience, compassion, understanding, and an unbreakable bond of friendship. The handlers learn as much from the animals as the animals do from them. Countless hours are spent working directly with the dogs in obedience and even agility training. All of the dog's new found skills come home with you and them when you adopt Jail Dog. Where else can you find that?
Imagine being able to rescue an animal that rescues you right back! That's the Jail Dogs Program.
The Jail Dogs Program does even more than save the lives of hundreds of dogs and cats. It enriches the lives of the animals and their handlers with love, trust, patience, compassion, understanding, and an unbreakable bond of friendship. The handlers learn as much from the animals as the animals do from them. Countless hours are spent working directly with the dogs in obedience and even agility training. All of the dog's new found skills come home with you and them when you adopt Jail Dog. Where else can you find that?
Imagine being able to rescue an animal that rescues you right back! That's the Jail Dogs Program.
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Sometimes things align correctly in this world and some amazing things come about because of it. In this case Jail Dog Daphne has left the detention center!!!
Her adoption is not like most, hers was made possible by her handler. Daphne was on her way to becoming one of our long-term dogs, (she arrived in the program in October of 2020) due to her quirks with some dogs and people. She had bounced around from handler to handler as they would come and go out of the program. She needed an extremely specific type of adopter that had not come around until now… In March of this year a young man came into our program with a spark in his eye and a willingness to give his all to his job. He was assigned as a secondary handler to Jail Dog Daphne and that is where the magic began. Daphne’s primary handler did well with her, but there was something special in the way that Daphne responded to her secondary handler. She challenged him in all ways possible and he took on that challenge and made her the dog she is today. After just a few weeks it was clear that Daphne needed the guidance of her secondary handler, who was then made her primary. “She gave me purpose, something to focus on and a chance to do something different with my life when I get home”, stated her handler. “We needed each other, and I believe we helped each other through good times and bad.” On most days you could find Daphne and her handler out in the rec yard exercising, learning new tricks like frisbee catching, obstacles and anything else her handler could come up with. He worked with a few other handlers and had their dogs doing tricks together. We saw Daphne’s demeanor change, her willingness to be social, and most importantly, a special bond formed. We also watched as a young man found a purpose and become one of our top handlers. So last night around 7:00 pm Jail Dog Daphne and her handler left the detention center together. They both have a new lease on life and look forward to what comes next. The handler plans on continuing training dogs and has a wonderful new partner in Daphne to show what he is capable of. We look forward to seeing their success in the future! |
