Second Chance Pups is a program at the Nebraska State Penitentiary where inmates train shelter dogs. 

The inmates are carefully chosen to be either a primary dog handler, an alternate dog handler, or a Domesti-PUPS dog trainer.  In addition, to remain in the program, the inmates must remain incident-free and on good behavior. 

The dogs are chosen from area shelters to join the Second Chance Pups program for a period of nine weeks.  Dogs that would normally sit in a shelter because of behavior issues get to go to prison to be loved, trained, and cared for by inmates looking to give back to the community.

We see this program as a win-win situation.  Dogs get a second chance at finding a loving, life-long family and the inmates get a second chance at doing something positive.  Some of the inmates have expressed an unconditional love for their dogs, many for the first time in their lives.  The dogs respond quickly and lovingly in return, aiding in the training process.

During the nine week process, volunteers work tirelessly to find homes for the dogs so that by the end of the rotation, we hope to have all dogs adopted.  If you are interested in adopting one of these amazing dogs and becoming part of our success story, please click on the ‘Dogs’ link above for more information.  Adoption Applications, found at the aforementioned link above, must be filled out and reviewed by our volunteers before an adoption can be finalized.