Katonah Mother and Daughter Give Dogs 'A New Chance'

Who knew collecting pennies from her fellow second graders to save a few kittens would lead Sophie Silverman, now 15, to having a role in the rescue of over 500 animals over seven years of animal advocacy?

Her teacher and her parents may not have known it then, but she said she’s always felt a calling. “This is what I want to do with my life,” she said on a recent winter day inside her Katonah home, surrounded by her five of her own dogs.

Each one tells part of her story.

There’s Dakota, a purebred Golden retriever, her first dog and first canine love. Lassie is a Border Collie-Cavalier King Charles mix and the first dog Sophie ever adopted, after her persuasive grade school fundraising led to a $60 donation to a local shelter. After learning more about puppy mills and high-kill shelters—through independent research she conducted in the third grade—Sophie, with the support of her parents Fred and Sharon Silverman, personally fostered 107 dogs through New York Pet Rescue over the last six years and helped to rescue many more.

Propelled by a desire to rescue even more dogs, primarily from the South where the euthanization rate is very high, Sophie and her mother, Sharon Silverman, launched in December a new local nonprofit, A New Chance Animal Rescue, an organization devoted to transforming mistreated animals into adoptable family pets.

The Silvermans coordinate the selection of dogs from two shelters in North Carolina where the kill rate is close to 80 percent. They oversee the dogs’ transportation and health services including vaccinations, spay/neutering, de-worming, and microchipping for identification. The pair arranges for foster families to prepare the dogs for eventual adoption, and follows up with adoptive families to ensure the process has gone smoothly.

Which brings us back Sophie’s other dogs: Savannah, an abused Golden chow mix so terrified of men that only Sophie and her mom could handle her puppies, who were born in the van en route to the Silverman’s home. Joined by Bear, a German shepherd-Border collie mis and Lukas, a Maltese Shih Tzu they rescued from hoarder in West Virginia, they were three dogs meant for adoption who never. With its barn-like exterior and plenty of room to run out back, the Silvermans’ home looks like a place animals would want to stay.

“This is Sophie’s driving passion, it’s part of her essence and we wanted to support her the same way we would go to travel soccer games,” said her mother, Sharon. “It is a noble thing and that’s how it began for us. And Fred and fell in love with the dogs, too. It’s a wonderful thing to see them live.”

Passion leads Sophie to rise at 5:30 a.m. in order to let her dogs—and any they may be fostering—outside. She feeds them, cleans up accidents and trains them as much as she can before school. In the evenings, she reviews applications for adoption, talks to potential foster families and works on socializing and training the dogs. Oh, and she studies to stay on top of her honors-level and AP courses at Fox Lane High School.

has rescued 40 dogs already this year.

“I am so proud of both of my children,” said Sharon of Sophie and her son Alex, a senior at Fox Lane. “ I am responsible for the organization too, obviously, but Sophie spreads the word and recruits volunteers and drives the whole operation.”

For Sophie, it’s just the beginning.

“In a way, A New Chance is the culmination of everything I’ve worked for, but it’s also just a start,” she said, stroking Savannah, who isn’t afraid of anyone anymore. “It’s just amazing to watch the difference in the dogs after we get them. I’m devoted.”

On Mar. 10, from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m., A New Chance will be having an adoption event at in Bedford Hills. The Silvermans require an application prior to adoption, which you can find on their website (where you can also donate to this all-volunteer operations). But even if you’re application-ready, the event offers and opportunity to meet the dogs they have available. Check out the photos posted with this story to get a preview.