Dogs show us that they can be everyday heroes in so many ways, from rescue dogs to guide dogs and those that keep us safe by sniffing out drugs and explosives. If you see closely there are countless stories of man’s best friend standing up and doing amazing things for their owners and others. Sometimes these four-legged furry creatures are heroes just by being our companions, non-judgemental and loyal friends we can always rely on when we are facing tough times.
You can train them to be anything you want good or bad but when you hear that prison inmates were given puppies to raise, it was definitely a reason for concern. Leader Dogs For The Blind are using prisoners to teach their puppies basic obedience, manners, and socialization so that they can be helpful to blind people, it just made sense to us. These inmates donate most of their time and effort to training these puppies.
The warden at Fort Dodge Correctional Facility in Iowa came up with the idea of letting his prisoners help with this amazing and thoughtful program. In the beginning, the warden’s idea was met with hesitation and doubt, but they eventually decided to let Dennis Lass, a prisoner who had been in there for over 40 years, serving a life sentence, raise the first puppy. To their shock, the puppy exceeded their expectations and was trained very well.
After the first puppy was raised Leader Dogs For The Blind now has puppies being raised by inmates in 3 different correctional facilities in Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Believe it or not but those puppies have a higher success rate of graduating from the program and actually becoming guide dogs for the blind than compared to the others.
The four-legged furry creatures are shifted with the prisoner when they are about 6 weeks old and stay with their inmate owner for about a year. During this time, the little ones learn basic obedience and home manners and are exposed to different situations so they aren’t timid in new situations. The prisoners compete with each other on whose puppy has well-groomed and the best-behaved puppies, which ensures that they take their responsibilities quite seriously.
Raising these little friends helps the prisoners have a more fulfilling life. It teaches the inmates what it is like to serve others and give back to their communities through the training process. It doesn’t cost the state anything since all costs are paid for by donations to Leader Dogs For The Blind which takes care of the costs of the puppies, vet bills, and everything the puppies need. Purina has also donated dog food for the puppies while they are in their training period with the inmates.
The prisoners love their puppies and it’s sad to say goodbye when the year is up and the furry friend is ready for more extensive training to become guide dogs for the blind. But the inmates feel the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping people and giving the world back by doing something good. Through these trained dogs they are giving people with disabilities to live a more fulfilling life.
The Prison Puppy Raising Program has not only helped the blind but also helped the inmates. They are more peaceful and have better relationships with their guards. The inmates that are a part of the Leader Dogs For The Blind Prison Puppy Raising Program have a lower rate of inmates that are re-incarcerated after being released. Their return rate is 11 to 13 per cent whereas other prisons have closer to 50% return rate nationwide.
