Professional basketball player Danny Green and representatives of creative agency Rozaay Management today joined staff of Toronto Animal Services to tour the North York Animal Shelter and meet dogs in the City of Toronto’s Second Chance Dogs program.
Second Chance Dogs provides additional training to dogs that require extra support to get ready for adoption. The program, which is entirely run on donations, takes dogs that are surrendered to the shelter, or lost dogs that are not claimed, and provides them with training to help them learn acceptable social behaviours and how to cope in situations where they lack confidence.
Once a dog graduates from the program, Toronto Animal Services interviews families interested in a dog to ensure they are a good match and are prepared to continue the dog’s training.
Danny Green, who is a dog lover, and Rozaay Management have committed to raising awareness of Second Chance Dogs through the “Return the Love” campaign aimed at nurturing healthy pets.
Today, Green and Rozaay Management staff met the three dogs that have recently graduated from Second Chance Dogs and announced a special, reduced promotional fee of $50, plus tax and a licence, for their adoption. The dogs are:
• Prince, a happy, healthy one-year-old Belgian Malinois mix that came to the shelter when his owners could no longer care for him due to family illness. During training, Prince worked on gaining confidence in new surroundings and not reacting to other dogs.
• Polka, a nine-month-old Australian Cattle Dog mix. During training, Polka was nervous, and required support to learn how to socialize and walk on a leash.
• Dot, Polka’s sister and also a nine-month-old Australian Cattle Dog mix, also went through socialization and training to build confidence.
In addition to training, all of the dogs have been microchipped, vaccinated, dewormed, spayed/neutered and undergone a physical exam by a staff veterinarian.
Second Chance Dogs began in 2018. Since that time, the City of Toronto has successfully trained 33 dogs, 25 of which have been adopted.
To learn more about the program, donate, or inquire about the dogs, call 416-338-7297 (PAWS). More information can also be found at http://toronto.ca/secondchancedogs.
Quotes
“My dog Gizmo is such an important part of my life that I can’t imagine other pets not having the same opportunity. My goal is to encourage people to share the love, open their hearts, and to help these dogs find their forever home.”
– Basketball player Danny Green
“I want to thank Danny Green and Rozaay Management for helping the City of Toronto raise awareness of this important program and join them in encouraging residents to return the love by adopting a Second Chance Dog.”
– Toronto Mayor John Tory
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