By Jason Klaiber

Staff Writer

Helping Hounds Dog Rescue will soon be moving from the location it has occupied since it started in 2009.

The dog rescue service will be relocating from 6606 Kinne Road in DeWitt to a facility at 7268 Caswell St. in North Syracuse.

The move is planned for mid-to-late January, according to Helping Hounds’ Executive Director Kathy Gilmour.

The new, 9,000-square-foot space will feature permanent canine kennels rather than the makeshift crates and pens being utilized currently.

Training rooms will be rolled out at some point in 2020 to help newly adopted dogs learn basic obedience and experience socialization, according to Gilmour.

“We’ll offer services that will keep bringing you back to help make sure that the foundation and the relationship you have with your new dog is solid,” Gilmour said.

Helping Hounds will also introduce respite care rooms with the move.

“We have gotten phone calls over the years from people who are just temporarily in need of a place for their dog to stay for a variety of reasons,” Gilmour said. “It could be an elderly person that needs to go into the hospital or some medical facility. They don’t necessarily want to give up their dog, but they have this window of time where they just can’t be the caretaker and commercial boarding is not an option because it’s not financially viable.”

Other uses of the respite area could stem from housing issues like foreclosures or decisions to flee from domestic violence.

The North Syracuse facility will also be able to accommodate gatherings such as children’s birthday parties.

The layout of the new facility has been modeled after a village—street names, house numbers and all.

Lola Jean Lane for example was named so in honor of the first dog ever taken in by Helping Hounds.

Accoroding to Gilmour, the new space’s kennel area has been named in dedication to Kelly Wilson, a Helping Hounds volunteer who passed away in 2017.

Walker’s Way has been named after a dog Wilson adopted from the rescue service.

Save a Stray Path, Love on Wheels Drive and Underdog Express-Way pay homage to the organization’s partnerships in Alabama and Texas.

With the relocation to Caswell Street, Gilmour said some volunteers or regular visitors might not turn up as often due to inconvenience, but she said she is “hopeful” that the change of address will lead to Helping Hounds joining up with a “whole new demographic.”

“There may be some growing pains, but I think we’ll get through it OK,” Gilmour said.

Opportunities remain for individuals or businesses to sponsor a part of the facility or donate. For more information on the progress of the new facility’s renovation and ways to help out, visit helpinghoundsdogrescue.org.