Paws on Parole is a program partnering with Alachua County Animal Services and Gainesville Work Camp that teaches and allows prison imates to train adoptable dogs.
Homeless Pups Find Help Behind Bars
Prison inmates and shelter dogs both live behind bars in what is often a
harsh and solitary environment. Now programs around the country are bringing
the two together to foster responsibility and adoptability. Alachua County
Animal Services' Hilary Hynes was approached by the Florida Department of
Corrections to start a prison dog program after hearing about the benefits
of similar efforts in other areas. Three months ago Paws on Parole was born,
matching inmates from the Gainesville CI Work Camp with dogs from the local
animal shelter. The teams are supervised by dog trainers who teach the participants
how to train their pups to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test.
Doggie Diplomas
Friday was graduation day for six furry students, and it's the first of its kind for one North Central Florida county. Organizers say not only did the students learn a thing or two, so did their teachers. Now there's only one thing left for the graduates to do - get adopted.
It all happened as part of the "Paws on Parole" program where six state inmates from the Gainesville work camp were selected to train adoptable dogs.
